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n ri er cF y M Bobb e Man Blu Gro up H ” a ! n R E d B e C M l irq TI & ue se: “ H Alfon ayd n Society J o a n R i v e r s Pilob olus i n t e r v i e w A Little Lightour urban reflections Music are Philippe Bergeron’s projections. IntervIew By roBert WitkowskI hotography p arville d ouis l ourtesy philippe bergeron/© Jean- C Philippe Bergeron, 52, projects an incendi- ary view of the world as he ardo; inset: dazzles Portlanders with Paint- cc i Scaping, his 3-D digital mapping r company. The former actor, figurative- ly setting City Hall on fire at the Old Port Festival’s 40th anniversary, is changing the Christopher way we see ourselves, one building at a time. s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 3 3 3 i n t e r v i e w t Do you consider your work to be Structuralist? Post-modern? life. We took day trips to the Old Port–I was tion of downtown managers. Jan Beitzer, exec- That’s like asking someone in 1910 if their film probably two my first time to Portland. utive director [since retired] of Portland is post-modern. It’s a new art form–combining Downtown District, saw it, fell in love with it, the virtual and the real, hopefully seamlessly. So you guys have been a projection on this culture. and invited us to do the Old Port Festival’s Ironically, I was vacationing here two years 40th anniversary. After signing the contract, I What excited you about the project? tures ago, walking around the Old Port. I said, jumped up and down. I was going to get my C Portland City Hall was my choice. The Cus- “What a great city. I’d love to do a Paintscape lobster roll! It’s not easy to get a good lobster tom House is great, but why not go all the here sometime.” roll in L.A. way? The great city halls are all back East. The thing is, my parents came with me to They’re extraordinary. This was a celebration see City Hall Paintscape. We’d just visited all The subliminal lobster roll? of Portland and City Hall itself, but not only the places like when I was 10 years old. And it Lobster rolls are a religion. We have to go to Portland history, my personal history as well. struck me–I was part of the show. It’s all part The Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth, Rising of who I am. Why do you think there’s a light- Tide at Pine Point, and Ken’s Place in Scarbor- What do you mean? house & lobster in the show? ough. All these are a must! We’re one of the millions who invade you ev- When I was doing tests for the Old Port How did the City Hall project come to your attention? ourtesy philippe bergeron/paramount pi ery summer. I’m from Montreal, so my fami- Festival and my parents were leaving to go to C ly came to Old Orchard and Pine Point all my We did a Paintscape in Orlando for a conven- Ken’s, I asked, “Can you wait for me? I’ll be fin- ished in about an hour.” They said, “No!” So I aping (2); went with them. It was more important for me Sc to have that lobster roll with them there. And then you created a little light music, with a dash of shock ourtesy paint and awe. Did it make the Portland PR people uneasy? C I wrote the structure of the presentation with ardo; cc PDD. They loved it. I gave it to Rob Ostir [Hollywood visual effects artist whose cred- its include Mr. & Mrs. Smith, TRON: Legacy, hristopher ri Thor, X-Men: First Class] to direct. He C brought it to new levels. In Iron Man II, Bergeron’s Detective It was your first City Hall. Have more come calling since? Lemieux investigates a madman us- There’s been some interest, but the one I re- ing technology developed by Tony kwise from top left: ally want to do is Philadelphia’s. Message to C Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Mayor Michael Nutter: I want to do your City Clo 3 4 P o r t l a n d monthly magazine THe many faceS of Portland city hall– t From left, moving shadows trick the eye; Maine postcards evolve to swinging lines; second floor windows incredibly rotate on the fascade; a lighthouse illuminates a gi- nat lobster scurrying up the building; fire- works explode out of windows signal the grand finale. Hall! Or even Independence Hall. The paint- scape would be so great. What’s your biggest smash hit so far? FLASHnIGHt Something we did with Sony Pictures at the Ritz-Carlton in Cancun. It was a press junket “it tricks you by creating virtual shadows for 17 films, and we blew them away with our Green Hornet PaintScape showing digital for virtual reality. if they look like real characters jumping from balcony to balcony. They told us, “Congratulations. You dazzled shadows, then you have the audience.” the biggest stars in the world.” aping Sc Who’s most fun to act with: Nicholas Cage, Matthew Brod- Are Franco-American actors rising above stereotype today? erick, Alan Rickman, Frank Langella, or Robert Downey, Jr.? I’m always playing the annoying French Jean Renault, actually. I played the assistant guy, and I’m not even French! I think its ourtesy paint C in Godzilla. He was so funny, much different easier for French-Canadians to make fun of than his characters [in The Professional, La the French than they can of themselves. Femme Nikita]. We laughed and swapped Who cares? There’s plenty of clichés of ardo (2); cc recipes. What was really funny was that Americans eating hot dogs. I couldn’t care Matthew Broderick was darker in person less. Every actor is a stereotype. DeNiro than his character. made a career out of playing mafiosi, Meryl hristopher ri Streep is known for her accents. My accent C Who’s most impacted you the most, good or bad? gave me a career. It’s not bad, it’s good. Crowds gather in front of City Hall for the PaintScaping. aping; James Gandolfini. I think this text says it all: That’s what you need to do in Hollywood– Sc I talked with James Gandolfini…I men- you have to have a niche.. tioned that I knew you and…the scene years and met a lot of great people but never you were in with him. He said, “That What brought you back to digital media? became famous. Then one night, I painted a ourtesy paint C was a good scene,” and to say hello to I first made waves in animation at a conven- rock in my backyard with light. you. Your reputation lives on. tion in 1985 by creating the first human de- It knocked me out. It became so clear to I got that the day before he died. I played veloped by computer with emotions. But I me that this was the future of lighting. With Denis, a French-Canadian mafioso, on the was sick of computers in a couple years and PaintScaping you light up only the tree, [”Soprano Home Movies”] episode of The started doing horrible stand-up comedy. I masking out everything else. You create kwise from top left: C Sopranos. It was the most intense one day of had audiences rolling on the floor–for all the effects [using projectors] that look real, and it Clo acting I’ve ever experienced. wrong reasons. I went into acting for 15 becomes more than just a projection. s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 3 3 5 Portland Monthly 2.25” x 4.875” INterview University of New England Cabot FarMErS’ Annual Sculpture Garden annEx Invitational Nestled among the beautiful Victorian brick buildings of Portland’s June 7–October 31, 2013 Old Port shopping district, you’ll find an authentic taste of New England at the Cabot Farmers’ Annex. In honor of creator Grant Jacks Bergeron as Denis, a deceptively Fall colors call for Cabot’s vicious French-Canadian mobster zestiest flavors! Enjoy a crisp evening conferring with Tony Soprano with the added kick of our sharpest (played by the late James Gandol- Cheddar’s, or get adventurous with our fini) during “the most intense day flavored varieties, like Horseradish, Chipotle, or Hand-Rubbed Tuscan. of acting I’ve ever experienced.” Stop by for a sample today! Isn’t that just a new kind of frame and just as limiting? Once you accept that you can’t change the structure of the building and work with it, the possibilities become endless. Lady Bird It tricks you by creating virtual shadows Ferland Family, Poland, ME for virtual reality, and if they look like real shadows, then you have the audience. You Judy O’Donnell, O’Donnell, Judy can change the look of the world in ways we Come walk among the works of sculpture and enjoy our Labyrinth. The Gallery’s exterior is open any time. Visit us at facebook.com/ can’t imagine. We’re just seeing the begin- CabotFarmersAnnex ning of mapping. 163 Commercial St., Portland, ME 207.541.9344 Is it more important to be creative or technical? Visiting Vermont? It’s much more important to be creative, but UNE Portland Campus • 716 Stevens Ave Stop by one of our 3 locations! Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun 1–4 p.m.