第87页 The Allure of Hollywood

For French stars, there is an artistic allure as well. Unlike American screen actors, who often know shockingly little about film history pre-Spielberg, most French stars are familiar with American movies, admired them and were inspired by them. (There are more repertory houses in Paris showing classic American film than in New York.) For some, it's almost as if they think of themselves as working in an American art form, so that going to America is like returning to the mothership. "France is an old country. I think that's why I love America," said actor Yvan Attal. "There is something very creative--cinema, music. It's very cinematic." Or as Vincent Lindon put it, "Just put your camera in New York--take an actor, make him walk down Fifth Avenue. Put Bob Dylan on the soundtrack, and you say, 'Wow, what a movie.'"