Do any of you have Marlene Dietrich tattoos? Below are some inked renderings of La Dietrich, perhaps an intriguing way to avoid licensing permissions. For those of you with tattoos, why do you think all these people have Marlene on their limbs? Because those body parts are more visible, or because those body parts are less sensitive to pain?
Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist made a lot of noise at Cannes Film Festival this Sunday because it's a 21st-century silent film. Read more about it here. It's telling that the movie's lead actress, Bérénice Béjo, researched Marlene Dietrich's films to enhance her performance because many of Dietrich's talkie-era scenes--such as the wedding in The Scarlet Empress--evoked an atmosphere with only visuals and music. I will, however, have to see The Artist to determine whether Béjo studied hard enough. Based on the trailer, I'd give her an F for emulating Dietrich's winks and eye movements. In fact, it looks like Béjo visited a proptosis clinic or watched a Bette Davis film for inspiration.
According to this article in the Guardian, Marlene Dietrich helped to raise funds for the development of a block of flats in Berlin's Tiergarten. The building was designed by Walter Gropius. When the Berlin Senate had problems finding funding for their proposed development, they put through a call to Dietrich, living in the US. The star apparently made some calls to Wall Street bankers and within two days, funding was secured.
