Depardieu Back In Paris After French Fallout Aug 5th 2013, 15:31
Veteran French actor Gerard Depardieu is shooting a film in Paris for the first time since he sparked a huge outcry by leaving France for tax reasons and taking Russian nationality.
In an interview, the 64-year-old star said he did not move out of the country to escape the taxman but to flee "the way governments use the money they take".
The award-winning performer made headlines late last year when he decided to move to Belgium after the Socialist government sought to impose a 75% tax rate on annual incomes over one million euros.
He was subsequently granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin.
"It's the first time that I'm shooting again in France (since the controversy)", he told the AFP news agency of his new film about the history of the FIFA World Cup, in which he plays the competition's creator Jules Rimet.
"I live in Russia, where I spent three-and-a-half months. I have firms in the countries in which I live because it's more advantageous.
"In 15 years, I have spent maybe only five months in France."
The shoot in Paris will last around 20 days, and Depardieu will be acting in English alongside "an international cast" of British, Australian and American actors, including Tim Roth.
The actors will also work on location in Brazil, Switzerland and Spain, and the film is due to come out in time for the 2014 World Cup.
Depardieu was recently fined 4,000 euros and had his licence suspended for driving his scooter in Paris while drunk in November.
He will also star as Dominique Strauss-Kahn in an upcoming film inspired by the spectacular fall from grace of the French former IMF chief, who was accused of sexually assaulting a New York hotel maid.
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