I think it’s the love story, it’s amazing. What is the most striking or interesting thing about Celine or her career? It’s easy because she’s funny and she has a special way to move and she has a special way to have distance between what happens and what she says. Why do you think that is? Just because you are so interested in her story? It was, for me, the most important in terms of movies I've made. It was a big joy to discover that and a big joy to shoot it and a big joy to edit it. There were some songs I didn't know, not only songs made for Celine, but songs that she was singing at 17. I don’t know why I was so touched, but I said, ‘I will do a movie.’ I spent one year and 19 days to read everything, to watch everything, and to discover that there’s the family story and a love story. I was a fan of Celine’s songs, but when I saw, I was touched by the first steps of Celine walking around as a child. Why did you want to make this film? What was so captivating to you about Celine and her life? Lemercier spoke with NYLON about what’s so captivating about Dion’s life, the singer’s darkness, and the…creative liberties…she took with the film. Despite all Dion’s attempts to be private – she didn’t want anything to do with the making of the film, and her family has since said they hate it – there’s something about the singer that makes people’s hearts latch tightly to her.
(She did not.)īut it speaks to how desperately Lemercier wanted to embody the diva. The effect puts many of the film’s sequences squarely into the nearly unwatchable area of the uncanny valley, and did in fact inspire a Google search of whether or not Dion had a birth defect. The film used special effects to shrink Lemercier’s body and erase years off her face, so she could play Dion from five months of age well into her ‘50s. But she also took her devotion to the role a step further.ĭespite the film being told from when Dion was a baby, it was important for Lemercier to star as her in every scene – even when she’s a small child. It’s safe to say Lemercier is a Dion superfan she spent “a year and 19 days” reading every book and consuming all the information she could about Dion in order to write, direct in and star in the role. The film is a chronological telling of the singer’s life as a savant child through her marriage, the birth of her first son, the weeks she was put on vocal rest, and her life performing sold-out shows in Vegas each night, where she had a longtime residency that was one of the most lucrative contracts of all time ($100 million…no big deal). For her, the greatest part of Dion’s tale was the story of her and her first and only true love René Angélil, whom Dion met when she was 12 and he was 38. “When you are making biopics, it’s often about the dark side of somebody and this depressed thing, and it was not the case with Celine, and I liked that,” Lemercier told NYLON over Zoom. But the other, more likely reason, is because she never publicly battled addiction, depression, divorce, or anything most celebrities of her caliber have had to endure in the public eye. When we think of pop divas, Dion often doesn’t come to mind – partially because she’s kept most of her life private. But the new, unauthorized biopic Aline, written, directed by, and starring the French actor Valérie Lemercier, sheds light on the lesser-known parts of the pop diva’s life, a life where “My Heart Will Go On” does not play a starring role.īorn the youngest of 14 children in Quebec, Dion was already a household name outside the U.S.
Filming for the movie began in late 2020 in London, and wrapped in early 2021.For most of us, Celine Dion will forever be most known for “My Heart Will Go On,” the Titanic theme song that she recorded in one single, perfect take. The film’s supporting cast includes Russell Tovey, Steve Oram, Omid Djalili, Sofia Barclay, Lydia West, Arinze, Kene and Celia Imrie. Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and Esther Hornstein produce.
Screen Gems produced the film, which is distributed by Sony Pictures.ĭion executive produces the film alongside Doug Belgrad, Sophie Cassidy, Louise Killin and Jonathan Furhman. The movie is written and directed by Jim Strouse. The song is one of the celebrated singer’s biggest hits and most acclaimed songs, peaking at No. The film is named after Jim Steinman’s power ballad ‘It’s All Coming Back to Me Now’, which was made famous from Dion’s cover that was recorded for her 1996 album ‘Falling Into You’. In addition to Jonas and Heughan, the film also stars Celine Dion as herself, in the role of a mentor figure who will inspire the two main characters to fall in love. The two meet and develop a connection based on their shared heartbreak, reports ‘Variety’.