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PRESS KIT GOODIES
From the Paramount press kit, 1992
Photos by David Appleby; quotes from press booklet
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"In 1987 journalist Roselyne Bosch went to the archives of Seville to research an article on the early preparations for the Columbus quincentennial. Shown copies of Columbus's first letters to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel, Bosch realized she had found a fascinating subject for a screenplay and began years of intensive research, focusing on translations of original documents as well as the numerous books that had been written about Columbus."
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Click on thumb-nails for close-ups
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"Bosch remembers, 'I chose the explore the most exciting theory about him -- that he was a rebel who pushed the limits of his time; not just geographically, but also socially and politically. You can't imagine a more complex personality than his. There are several men in one."
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"Gerard Depardieu comments that he is accustomed to reflecting about a role and working out any problems before filming commences. 'Once I'm on the set, it's like an explosion of joy,' Depardieu says. 'I am happy to follow the director and I don't want to convince him of a different approach to a scene. With Ridley Scott I've managed to build up exactly the kind of relationship I yearn for the set.'"
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"'What fascinated me was the progressive disaster that engulfed both the islands and Columbus after the discovery,' Scott says. 'It was a great adventure, but for the man it was also a great tragedy. He was accused of seeking gold and glory, but it was an idea that kept him going all those years before 1492. He was a visionary and a man with a conscience.'"
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Depardieu's preparations included reading Columbus's letters. 'He told me he wanted to hear his voice,' recalls Bosch. 'Nothing is better than the letters for that. Now we share the same passion for the character. Five hundred years later, Christopher Columbus is still extremely convincing."
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"'I think that Columbus was an artist,' Depardieu states. 'Because when a man is looking for paradise, he's also looking for harmony, willing to find a better world. And that is the idea of an artist. I identify with all characters who feel the need to see something new. For a man like Columbus, anything is possible.'"
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