Nusch Éluard, Paul's wife, was Maar's best friend and another favorite subject of both Man Ray and Picasso's portraiture. Nusch died of a stroke in 1946, when she was just 40—an event that devastated her husband, Man Ray and Maar.We would like Felicity Jones to play the German beauty, performer and artist.
Photo by Craig McDean.
Poor Marie-Thérèse Walter—she became Picasso's mistress at the tender age of 17 (Picasso was 45) and mother to his second child, Maya, at 24. The subject of many of Picasso's 1930s portraits such as La Lecture and Le Rêve, Walter hoped Picasso would marry her after leaving his first wife, Olga. Unfortunately for Walter, Picasso took up with Dora Maar instead. We nominate newcomer Bella Heathcote for Marie-Thérèse Walter.
Photo by Gregory Harris.
French poet Paul Éluard first introduced Maar and Picasso at the famous cafe haunt (now a tourist trap) of the "lost generation" and existentialists alike, Les Deux Magots. A friend to both Maar and Picasso, Éluard and his wife, Nusch, played an integral part in Maar and Picasso's romance. We pick My Week with Marilyn star, and new Burberry model, Eddie Redmayne to play the poet. Éluard was 42 at the time Guernica was painting, so we're counting on hair and makeup to age baby-faced Redmayne 10 years.
The only actor attached to 33 Dias thus far is Antonio Banderas, who is set to play the man himself, Pablo Picasso. Banderas and Picasso were born just four blocks (and quite a few decades) apart in Malaga, Spain...how can you argue with that casting logic?
Photo by Phillip Dixon.
Picasso's mistress, French photographer (and poet) Dora Maar, documented Picasso's progress on Guernica. Maar also suffered for her love of Picasso, and was devasted when the painter found a new lover, Francoise Gilot. Picasso's most famous portrait of Maar (he painted her many times) is Dora Maar au Chat, in part because it was auctioned for $216,000 in 2006. Oh, the moneyed days of the mid-2000s... Clémence Poésy looks like she has the right mix of beauty and gumption to portray Maar; she just has to dye her hair brown.
Casting Call loves to give less experienced actors a (hypothetical) chance, however, times in the movies business are tough and we're concerned that no one will bother to see this movie if we don't cast someone famous. Our solution: cast Johnny Depp as Man Ray. We think it's the sort of part JD would go for, and Dora Maar was one of Man Ray's muses.
NB: The "Winona Forever" tattoo is somewhat of a giveaway, but this photo is from our April 1990 issue, which featured JD on the cover.
