Written by Krista Kleiner
Photographs courtesy of Alex Vallée and Bryan Sipe
"CUT, print, thank you, bye…” was the frequent phrase heard at the end of a Jean-Marc Vallée shoot. One that the director used so succinctly to mark the final frames of a feature in the care of his remarkable vision.
Jean-Marc Vallée was a renowned filmmaker – one of Canada’s most honored talents. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, he studied filmmaking at the Collège Ahuntsic and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Through his directing, writing, editing and producing, he poured himself into telling stories of people who were lost or hurt in pursuit of healing. His feature film debut was with the film Black List (Liste Noire) in 1995. Its success as Quebec's highest grossing picture that year propelled Jean-Marc toward future projects including C.R.A.Z.Y. , a critically acclaimed film centered around a young man dealing with homophobia in the 1960's. In 2009 he was tapped by Martin Scorsese to direct the period drama Young Victoria starring Emily Blunt. The film centers around the early years of Queen Victoria and received three Academy Award Nominations. Garnering three Oscars and three additional Oscar nominations for Dallas Buyers Club (2013), he was also a key driving force behind Wild (2014), Demolition (2015), the HBO series Big Little Lies (2017-19), and Sharp Objects (2018).
Jean-Marc's film style encompassed a naturalistic spirit that used handheld camera techniques with natural lighting. His ability to draw out authentic and moving performances led Vallée to be recognized as an “actor’s director.” Jean-Marc directed three Emmy Award-winning performances and four Oscar-nominated performances, of which two won. He was sought by many leading actors in hopes that his cinematic genius would help them elevated their performances to unique and profound levels. The connection forged in the process went far beyond the captured image. Following his sudden death was an outpouring of actor’s sentiments mourning his loss.
Matthew McConaughey, who won an Oscar for his lead performance in Dallas Buyers Club, posted a photo of he and Vallée writing, “With a gentle hand and heart Jean-Marc was a true receiver – he didn’t romanticize life so much as he saw life romantic – from the struggle to the pain to the wink and the whisper, love stories were everywhere in his eye.”
Jared Leto, who won an Oscar for his supporting performance in Dallas Buyers Club, praised Jean-Marc as “a filmmaking force and a true artist” who changed his life.
Reese Witherspoon, who was nominated for an Oscar alongside Laura Dern for their mother and daughter roles in Wild, in addition to collaborating with Jean-Marc as a producer and as an executive producer on Big Little Lies, tweeted, “My heart is broken. My friend. I love you.” Later sharing a production photo on Instagram, she wrote, “I will always remember you as the sun goes down. Chasing the light. On a mountain in Oregon. On a beach in Monterey. Making sure we all caught a little magic in this lifetime.”
“Beautiful Jean-Marc Vallée,” Lauren Dern tweeted, “The world has lost one of our great and purest artists and dreamers. And we lost our beloved friend. Our hearts are broken.”
I met Jean-Marc in the fall of 2005 at the Toronto Film Festival. He was a new filmmaker from his beloved Montreal. I was a new motion picture literary agent at ICM in Los Angeles, on the hunt for new and unique filmmakers. I hadn’t planned to see his French language film C.R.A.Z.Y. premiering there with minimal fanfare, but I had some free time in between my scheduled films and meetings, and I liked the write up on it, so I watched the film in a makeshift screening room that was the size of a closet with a few chairs inside the old Varsity Theatres. Needless to say, I was blown away and as fate would have it, I had the privilege and honor of leading the charge in terms of introducing and establishing him as one of the new and exciting voices of cinema, and later high-end television. His mesmerizing use of music and emotion-based storytelling instinctually moved me to know that he was an artist that I wanted to represent and work with.
Eventually I transitioned to becoming his producing partner, and we became close friends, brothers and allies. We had a strong bond and trust. I learned a lot from him, and he was a hell of a guy. Funny, moody, charming, focused, generous, occasionally not the easiest to deal with at times, but who is? I was always quite protective of JMV, which is what i called him and introduced him as, at time keeping him away from people or things that could be distracting or take advantage of him and his time. Trying to handle the sort of things in filmmaking and business one needs to deal with, so he could stay creative, within his artistic cocoon in Montreal, or on set. We had an unbelievable 16-year partnership. In the last 10 years of that working relationship, we made Dallas Buyers Club, Wild, Demolition, Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects. Projects we and our collaborators were all supremely proud of. We traveled the world, went on adventures, and have stories and experiences that I’ll never forget. Worked with wildly talented artists, crew members and amazing partners at HBO, Universal and Fox Searchlight. Friends and comrades for life.
I was the first person in the States to hear of his passing. He was in a very good place, with us closing in on a film about John & Yoko. However, I had this weird sense something like this was coming. Very strange. Can’t explain it. He called and left a touching voicemail a few hours before he left us. I was in a fog during those first couple of weeks after but managed to let our close friends and partners know and put out a press release. He was quite beloved. The outpouring was immense. He touched a lot of people, which I believe was his one specific goal in storytelling; to move people. There are a few tragedies with his death. The obvious being the timing (too young), his health (he was seemingly in excellent shape and took care of himself), the odd circumstances (alone on Christmas night in a remote cabin that he purchased less than a month prior), but to me what hits home, is that he had more stories to tell. More to give. More people to move. I feel lucky and fortunate to have crossed paths and gone on this journey with him and grateful to have grown with him, professionally and personally. He would always call me “the man,” but that was what he was: ”The Man.” JMV will be sorely missed, but as they say, the work will live on. Him leaving us and the sudden way he did is a reminder for us all to live life with passion, full of emotion and in the moment. He would expect that from us.
Bryan and Jean-Marc on set, Demolition
Bryan Sipe and Jean-Marc Vallée
On a first person level, I had the chance to spend various dinners with Jean-Marc over the seven months before his passing. Our common affiliation with the Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) allowed us the opportunity to discuss a variety of topics among a small culinary group. Our dinner troop also included AWFF executive director, Georges N. Chamchoum. Georges and Jean-Marc shared a long and deep friendship that included Vallée serving on the festival board.
Georges’ introduction and community building nature allowed for a blossoming friendship around the shared goal of uplifting the voice and presence of underserved communities in the film industry to ultimately promote cultural understanding, peace, and unity. Aside from being a brilliant filmmaker, Jean-Marc possessed a unique and heartwarming nature. He was a breath of fresh air in an industry inundated with high emotional guards and superficiality. Being someone who was extremely humble, authentic, and kind, it was fascinating to connect him to a slew of high-profile industry accolades. Jean-Marc’s soft-spoken nature, fun sense of humor, willingness to share and generosity with time was wonderfully disarming.
On one particular occasion, Jean-Marc thoughtfully made time to join a small birthday gathering in my honor. His presence alone was a tremendous gift, yet he thoughtfully arrived with beautiful flowers and a picture book of “Women in Trees” as a wonderfully humorous gesture in honoring my recent global tree planting initiative.
Demolition (2015) Fox Searchlight
Filming Wild (2014) with Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon, Jean-Marc and son, Alex Vallée
Jean-Marc was in L.A. from his hometown of Montreal to work on writing the script for his next project – a film on the love story between John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Upon hearing this, my eyes widened with excitement. Sensing my curiosity, Jean-Marc leaned in, “Want to hear about the opening scene??” he asked with a teasing smirk. “Of course!” I replied, wide-eyed and surprised. “It starts off with an epic scene of a ship out at sea,” he theatrically described. As he would give me this special preview, I remember his childlike excitement in detailing each moment of the scene. Even though his resume encompassed several heralded projects, this one was special to him.
Jean-Marc's more recent passion for healthy living included lots of tea, Wim Hof breathing, morning swims in the ocean, monkey rings, therapy, and cold plunges. His friend, collaborator, and mentee, Bryan Sipe, disclosed that Vallée had stopped drinking two years prior to benefit his creative process in better understanding John Lennon, who had done the same in his later years. “He was a much kinder and gentler version of himself. He knew there was work to be done on himself for his boys. Everything was for them,” Bryan shared.
Being one of the closest people to Jean Marc at the time of his death, with an HBO limited series in the making, my conversation with Bryan helped to understand Jean Marc from a much wider lens. As the writer of their movie Demolition (2015), Bryan had connected with Jean Marc years before Dallas Buyers Club made him a household name. And despite being pulled into Wild immediately after, Jean Marc kept his word to direct their film together.
Bryan reminisced on Jean Marc’s laser focus to execute his vision on set – including a French boiling temper in those days that would wash away and be followed with an apology and invitation to dinner. “He never called cut. He even recorded rehearsals. There were times that he would get into arranging the furniture in the rooms and we would wonder what the heck he was doing. But by the end of it, it would all come together perfectly. Seeing him doing this sort of thing over and over helped me learn to trust him immensely, even if I didn’t understand,” recalled Bryan. “He is an editor first and he writes through an editing lens. I was never unsure he was the captain, but he never treated me as such. We were collaborators. The best idea won.”
Canada and the world lost a unique and gifted storyteller with the tragic and sudden passing of Jean-Marc Vallée. His love of life and his quiet, easy but attentive manner informed his view of the human condition. His direction and attention to detail made each of his projects a delightful treat, regardless of the subject matter or point of view. Audiences could relate to his characters.
His curiosity and inquisitive nature made him the ideal collaborator. Truly his was a life cut short…
ANDRE MORGAN
Film Producer
Jean-Marc Vallée – what can anyone say about this amazing human being? A strong and close friendship that lasted 30 years.
We had so much in common, but also so many differences. We had the same passion – “movies” but on various levels, he was discreet, very rich in words, eloquent, poised and I was all fire and loud! We embraced life to the fullest – again he was discreet, I was “crazy”!
He was soft spoken, I was ebullient! I would say unequivocally we complemented each other. When I saw his first movie LISTE NOIRE in 1995 – I fell in love with his style of storytelling, then 10 years later C.R.A.Z.Y. which was his first Masterpiece. I remember when he started thinking about it – I was in Montreal, shooting a movie, and we would meet for dinner, and spend many hours during the weekend, and he would tell me how the story would unfurl and each speak in details about each character – as if the movie was already a flicker on the Silver Screen.
That’s JMV – all passion, fire, and life in a very subtle way.
He Was Inspiration! I miss Him. I miss him calling me Jojopoulos!
I miss our weekly spicy dinners.
He will always live in my heart and mind.
He is a gift and touched everyone who circled around Him!
GEORGES N. CHAMCHOUM
Filmmaker
Jean-Marc Vallée was a unique storyteller. He directed with a voice that always felt raw, authentic, and compelling. As an audience, receiving that kind of a connection with a film was and is a gift. As a filmmaker, I'm grateful for the legacy of the work he's left us with and what it teaches us about humanity. I'm glad our paths crossed and I had the chance to tell him how much his films have meant to me.
CAYLEE SO
Filmmaker
Dear Jean-Marc, your sudden death sent a shock wave through our family and the world.
You gave me two wonderful sons who remind me of you every day, and wonderful films that will never be forgotten.
Rest in peace, carried by the love of your family, friends and fans.
CHANTAL CADIEUX
Quebec Screenwriter
Mother to Jean-Marc’s 2 sons
My father was an innovator in the world of cinema, a deeply sensitive man who took full advantage of his creative talent. He wanted to live a long life and he was preparing big projects. He was a source of inspiration for many and leaves wonderful memories in the minds of people who had the privilege of meeting him, loving him and appreciating his work.
ALEX VALLEE
Son
(L-R) Jean-Marc Vallée, Asel Sherniyazova, Georges N. Chamchoum, Krista Kleiner
At the Asian World Film Festival
Jean-Marc Vallée and Krista Kleiner
Jean-Marc had a reputation of having great rapport with young people and being quite invested in the next generation. He touched the lives of those he met, and countless more through his films. While his sudden death sent a wave of shock, his memory and inspiration will live on. On Christmas day of 2021, the world lost a special soul and visionary craftsman. Sadly, industry and audiences will be forever deprived of the work Jean-Marc had on the horizon. It is a hard acceptance regarding anyone gone too soon. But also a reminder to cherish the moments we have in the now.
As succinct as it is, perhaps he said it best- “Cut, print, thank you...bye.” -