PRODUCTION DOSSIER 01 Visual Biographical Background Dossier ROMAIN GARY’S LIFE STORY IN PICTURES © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Romain Gary is born in the town of Vilnius on the 21st of May 1914 - at that time a part of the Russian Empire but now in Lithuania. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Gary is born as ‘Roman Kacew’, first being brought up in Vilnius by his Jewish mother, Mina - his father leaves her and remarries. Young Roman will become fluent in 6 languages: Russian, German, Polish, French, Yiddish and English - mostly while still an infant. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Gary’s father, Leib Kacew, will see him very rarely after leaving Mina. Roman chooses to believe that his real father is the Russian actor Ivan Mosjoukine - that his mother had an affair with him while an actress. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Gary moves with his mother to Warsaw, then to Nice. According to ‘Promise at Dawn’ she tells everyone at the start that her son is going to be a war hero, literary great, respected diplomat and famous figure. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Romain Gary studies Law in Aix-en-Provence and after that he gains his Law Degree Certificate in Paris. Life will take another course for him and he shall never go on to become an attorney. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. After becoming French in 1935, Gary joins their Air Force for military service in 1938. He fights for the ‘Free French Forces’ based at an RAF Airbase in the UK, sees action in Africa and makes many bombing raids. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Romain Gary submits his first novel to publishers in 1937: ‘The Wine of the Dead’ (‘Le Vin des Morts’) will be rejected by all of them. His first work ends up being the last one published (2014). © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Following WWII victory, French President Charles De Gaulle awards Romain Gary medals and honors for his bravery including making him Captain, Compagnon de la Libération and Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. ‘Forest of Anger’ is published in January of 1945 - nine months before the end of WWII. It is an immediate success. Published as ‘Éducation Européenne’ in France, Gary’s novel wins the coveted ‘Prix des Critiques’. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. In 1944 Romain Gary enters into his first marriage - with the author, journalist and Vogue editor Lesley Blanch. From 1946 onwards, he is a respected diplomat posted in Bulgaria, Switzerland and America. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. France’s leading intellectuals Simone De Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre meet with Romain Gary in 1945. They are amazed at his novel and the deep wealth of life experience that lies behind his writings. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Gary’s novel ‘Les Racines du Ciel’ (‘The Roots of Heaven’) is published in 1956 and it wins France’s highest literary award, the ‘Prix Goncourt’. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. In spite of also winning the prestigious ‘Prix Durchon-Louvet’ from the French Academy that same year - for his entire output of work - rumors circulate that author Albert Camus may have doctored his novel. There is also criticism of Gary not writing ‘Proper French’. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Gary’s ‘The Roots of Heaven’ is filmed by director John Huston in 1958. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Romain Gary becomes the most famous French author of his day, having huge commercial success and also massive critical acclaim. His Prix Goncourt makes him the star of the literary establishment. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Errol Flynn is one star of the Hollywood production of ‘The Roots of Heaven’, which will be his final movie. - Orson Welles also appears. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Since the end of WWII Romain Gary has also been leading a life as a respected diplomat, ultimately becoming Consul General for France in Los Angeles and chief envoy of the French Delegation at the UN. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. In 1960, Romain Gary’s memoir ‘Promise at Dawn’ (‘La Promesse de l’Aube’) is published. It will be adapted into a feature film in 1971 and more recently in 2017 - starring Pierre Niney and Charlotte Gainsbourg. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Romain Gary remains married to Lesley Blanch for 17 years, but it is actually she who recommends that he spend some time with the rising young actress Jean Seberg - with whom he becomes infatuated. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Jean Seberg has been acting for three years, but starring in Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Breathless’ (‘A Bout de Souffle’) is a key turning-point for her in 1960 and - along with Gary - her stepping-stone to Hollywood. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Jean Seberg, however, is 24 years younger than Romain and a lot of scandal circulates around the difference of age in their relationship. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. In spite of the media judgment and public opinion, Romain Gary and Jean Seberg are secretly married in Corsica. The wedding takes place on October 6th 1962 - a month after Gary’s divorce from Lesley Blanch. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Romain Gary’s life is rarely out of the newspapers and this will never change - he shall remain the focus of media attention even after death. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. With his career and marriage flying high, Romain Gary moves to Hollywood with his wife, where they take on a new stage of life. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. It takes no time for them to settle into the entertainment capital of the world and they are soon a part of the ‘Higher Hollywood’ Elite. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. After selling film rights to many of his literary works for large sums, Gary becomes co-screenwriter of war film ‘The Longest Day’ in 1962. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Gary’s and Seberg’s relationship is dramatic and emotional. They become like the European version of the original power-couple of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, with some similar problems. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. The love between them appears genuine and real - yet Hollywood has a way of making true love difficult, as they both cruelly discover. © 2017-2021 LIVING TIME ™ MOTION PICTURES Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL UNAUTHORIZED USE PROHIBITED. MAN OF PROMISE THE MANY LIVES OF ROMAIN GARY. Hidden from everyone except the closest family for the first year of his life, Gary’s and Seberg’s only child Alexandre Diego Gary, is born in Barcelona on July 17, 1962.