Depardieu, Keitel and film director skip Farewell to Fools opening in Romania after quarrel with producer

Farewell to Fools, the Romanian –film that features Gerard Depardieu (in picture) in the lead role, recently premiered in Romania, but both main actors Depardieu and Harvey Keitel and the film's director Bogdan Dreyer were absent from the opening ceremony. Family Film, the producers of the film Condamnat la viaţă/A Farewell To Fools have made seemingly large changes to the final edit, angering the film's cast and director Bogdan Dreyer.

The opening event was attended by producer Giuliano Doman and some of the international actors, such as Uwe Fellensiek and Hubert Damen. According to Family Film, Gerard Depardieu, Harvey Keitel and Laura Morante's schedules prevented them from attending the Romanian premiere of the film. The premiere, at the Grand Cinema Digiplex, showed some empty seats, but the producer Giuliano Doman made a joke saying all the empty seats were requested by the film's director. The film is based on the book Moartea lui Ipu/The Death of Ipu and Depardieu plays the central character Ipu. The film's ending appears to have angered the film director, Bogdan Dreyer, who is a friend of Depardieu's. “I do not accept compromises, I do not like to be fooled,” said the French actor in an open letter. Director Bogdan Dreyer, who says the producers are breaking contractual agreements and do not have copyright over the film's script. In his letter, Gérard Depardieu said he enjoyed making the film and working in Romania with the local actors and director. However, problems have now arisen apparently due to the producers' attempts to secure US distribution. The film has apparently been given a happy Hollywood ending and according to Depardieu, lost some of the “poetry” of the original. The end result, in the French actor's opinion, is far closer to a bog-standard Hollywood action feature than the original version of the film ever was. The EUR 3 million movie was filmed in 2011 in Sighisoara, and in Saschiz village in Mures county, as well as in Bucharest and in Mogosoaia. editor@romania-insider.com