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2007 Festival Feature Films (March 30 - April 1)

French director Laurent Tuel presents this North American premiere of Jean-Philippe

director Laurent Tuel screenwriter Christophe Turpin et Laurent Tuel producers Marc Missonier, Olivier Delbosc (Fidélité Films), Marc Fiszman (Bankable Films) starring Fabrice Luchini, Johnny Hallyday, Antoine Dulery running time 90 min general audience

Description

Fabrice is a big, perhaps the biggest, fan of Jean-Philippe Smet, better known as Johnny Hallyday, the greatest rocker France has ever produced. But one day Fabrice wakes up in a parallel world where Johnny doesn’t exist. Dazed, orphaned of his hero, Fabrice sets out to find out what happened to Jean-Philippe in this other dimension. He finds him running a bowling alley. Jean-Philippe is a regular guy who played in a band as a kid but never became a star. Fabrice becomes obsessed with putting his idol back on his pedestal where he belongs. He will rouse the Johnny in Jean-Philippe. But in just a few months, can Jean-Philippe emulate what it took Johnny Hallyday years to achieve?

Congratulations to Christophe Turpin and Laurent Tuel on their 2007 César nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

director/actor
Laurent Tuel

actor
Fabrice Luchini

actor
Johnny Hallyday

actor
Antoine Dulery

actress
Caroline Cellier

actress
Guilaine Londez

Interview with Johnny Hallyday and Fabrice Luchini

What convinced the two of you to make this film?

FL: Johnny brought me the screenplay and I thought it was unique. I was astonished that Johnny came to see me with a screenplay!

JH: We were at the restaurant looking over the screenplay (we’d had a few drinks), and he started to sing “noir c’est noir” standing on a table using a bottle of red wine as a microphone! Right then I knew that it had to be him. He showed me that he could play the role with sensitivity, as opposed to the other comedians who had seen the screenplay.

What is it about the film that excited you the most?

JH: The film talks about the paths we take and how luck can change your destiny. Even if reflecting on the past comes to nothing, we can always wonder how we got where we are. For me, everything could be different. When I started in this line of work, I didn’t want to be a singer, I wanted to be an actor. I was taking classes at the Centre d’art Dramatique on the rue Blanche in Paris. I became a singer by chance. I was a fan of Elvis Presley and I started to sing songs in the same style. I made my first recording to pay for my comedy classes. It worked and I continued to make recordings. I could have become a racecar driver, too, like I dreamed about when I was little. But one thing is sure, like the movie says, it is never too late to accomplish your dreams. You have to really want to do it, and you’ve got to devote your whole self, body and soul.

Interview conducted by Julien Leconte for lequotidienducinema.com.