Defenders of democracy or stubborn investigators, journalists are also fictional characters. Their multiple incarnations have often changed the public’s view, but what about that of the main stakeholders? In series 7e art and 4e power, The duty gives the floor to journalists from all backgrounds to find out their perception of the profession through cinema.
While still very young, Valérie Gaudreau produced “fake” radio shows as well as “fake” humorous magazines, inspired by Fang and of Safarir. These children’s games demonstrated a real passion for current affairs, as well as for illustration and publishing. Seeing the profession of journalist as an inaccessible star, the future newspaper columnist The sun first completed a DEC in graphic design, before studying public communications at Laval University. After an internship at Sun in 2003 which she has never left since — despite the many upheavals which have marked its recent history! —, Valérie Gaudreau, who describes herself as “a night owl brimming with energy”, has a lot to say when it comes to cinema… and her profession.
How do you define your relationship with cinema? Has it changed over the years?
As a teenager, I saw almost all the films that came out in Quebec and I often went to the Place Charest cinema. Its closure [en 2011] created a big void in the city center, and I find that it is still felt. In the 1990s, thanks to the Antitube organization and the programmer Fabrice Montal, I discovered Quebec cinema, and particularly documentaries, including those by Claude Jutra [Wow, 1969] and Denys Arcand [On est au coton, 1970]. For years, with friends, our Super Bowl was Oscar night: we watched almost all the nominated works, made our predictions, but unfortunately, this tradition stopped with the pandemic.
My relationship with cinema has gradually changed over the years. I’m much more selective, I read the reviews to choose the best films… and so I go there less often. My latest favorite is The successor [de Xavier Legrand, 2023], a very successful and particularly anxiety-inducing film. On the other hand, the post-pandemic has not at all diminished my enthusiasm for the performing arts, music and theater, which leaves me less time for cinema. But every time I leave a movie, I always tell myself that I should go more often!
Did cinema inspire your desire to become a journalist or your way of practicing it?
My vision of journalism is very American. It has always been associated with New York, a city that I adore: the profession is practiced there in a frenetic way, the New York Times always hanging around somewhere, etc. In fact, as a teenager, I discovered one of my favorite filmmakers: Martin Scorsese. His films do not illustrate the different facets of journalism, but they are almost always rooted in reality. From the age of 16, I watched his short films and obtained VHS or DVD copies of his films, including Taxi Driver [1976]. Plus, being roughly the same age as Leonardo DiCaprio, I followed him from the start of his career: this actor inspires me… and even more so since he worked with Scorsese! I have always felt a deep affection for the cinema of the 1970s, even if it was a decade that I did not know. The films of this era reflect both my taste for urbanity and my thirst for discussing social issues.
One of the great films of this decade, All the President’s Men (1976), by Alan J. Pakula, is often cited by journalists as a source of inspiration. Do you share their enthusiasm?
I discovered it thanks to Midnight Cowboy [de John Schlesinger, 1969] — another film set in New York! —, dazzled by the performance of Dustin Hoffman, also featured in All the President’s Men. The big lesson of the Watergate scandal is that it all started with a banal burglary in an American government building, covered up by a journalist who didn’t want to be there at all. Several viewings and 20 years of experience have only reinforced certain convictions, including this one: an investigation can be long, slow… and dark. Then, the expression “ follow the money “, it’s still true, and more than ever! I often say this to our interns: a zoning change in a suburb may not be Watergate, but we need to know who benefits from this political, economic and social decision. Hence the importance of going out into the field, and not just hanging on to your phone. It may not be exciting to attend the inauguration of a building, but I invite them to observe who are the people present… and absent. Any detail can become a clue.
To hear you speak so passionately about this investigative film, I assume that you like it just as much Spotlight (2015), by Tom McCarthy, and She Said (2022), by Maria Schrader, on the revelations of New York Times regarding fallen producer Harvey Weinstein?
I love these films, and for the same reason as All the President’s Men : they dare to show the laborious nature of an investigation, which is in no way linear. Sometimes we move forward, and sometimes nothing happens. Regarding She Said, I saw the film, read the report by the two journalists, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, as well as their book, in addition to having listened to their podcast! What I find even stronger on their side is that they approach couple and family issues with frankness, because their investigation inevitably affects their private lives. Jodi Kantor said, “My biggest boss is two and a half years old, she’s at home, watching me…and keeping me from tipping over.” » When I worked as a news director, I was surrounded by young mothers and women who were juggling their careers with children at home. So, imagine if they also had to cover legal cases or work on sexual assault stories…
You were a boss for several years at Sun. What do you think of the sometimes intractable portraits that we make of “ boss press” at the cinema? Remember The Devil Wears Prada (2006), by David Frankel, where Meryl Streep plays a variation of the formidable Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue.
I find the real Anna Wintour much more fascinating, especially in the documentary The September Issue [de R. J. Cutler, 2009]. No doubt my background as a graphic designer has something to do with it, but seeing behind the scenes of this magazine, the production stages, the photo shoots, the choice of fonts, I find it fascinating. And of course, once again, there is a connection with New York! On the other hand, the method of tyrannical bosses is not my style: I like to work in a good mood, but if something doesn’t work, I have to say so. Shout to impose your authority? I suspect that it still exists, but fortunately for me, since I started my career at Sun, I have not had superiors like this. My ideal movie boss looks like Ben Bradlee [Jason Robards] In All the President’s Men or to Cameron Lynne [Helen Mirren] In State of Play [de Kevin Macdonald, 2009] : people capable of being respected with respect.
For more than 20 years, you have been covering news from the national capital, marked by flamboyant political and media personalities, from Régis Labeaume to Andrée P. Boucher and several radio hosts. If you had to choose one to be the subject of a film, which one would you prefer?
I grew up with [l’animateur de radio] André Arthur, and I no longer count the childhood memories linked to him, for example, the earthquake [du 25 novembre 1988, principalement dans les régions de Québec et du Saguenay] : public affairs, legal affairs, he described things forcefully. It alone illustrates an era that in no way resembles ours, without fragmentation of platforms, without fragmentation of meetings, a faithful radio station which could, in 30 seconds, open telephone lines because current events demanded it. . But, let’s say it: he was a hell of a character, very brilliant, too brilliant – they are the most dangerous… He caused a lot of havoc, including insinuating that certain politicians were pedophiles at the time of the Scorpion investigation [sur la prostitution juvénile au début des années 2000]. Who could play him? If I have an idea, I’ll let you know!