How To Make A Killing brings you to unexpected terrain, film noir. But it does deal with some of themes of your previous films…  
It’s almost necessarily so: I cannot, and I do not want to change my DNA. And so, all my films do have a common denominator. Often a personal relationship. In Rolling To You there was a couple, in Rumba Therapy, a father and daughter. And there is a couple in How To Make A Killing. It’s never calculated, it’s never done on purpose. It’s simply indispensable for me. If I made a film without that, I would feel that something was missing. I would feel like I’m cheating. And I don’t want that.

What did the film noir universe contribute?
Something that was more in the background in my previous films: the characters’ roots in reality. How To Make A Killing clearly shows that. Via the context and the details: I wanted us to know that Michel and Cathy shop for groceries at a Super U. From the very start, I made it clear to the crew that we were not making an “American” film. Even though I love that kind of cinema, this is a French film with very French characters, who wear French anoraks, take their kids to school… Even the gendarmes look like real gendarmes.

So important, that even its title roots your film in a specific region, outside the major cities?
That was my first desire. Even before coming up with the story, I wanted a film that takes place in the provinces, in the country, among its inhabitants…

Is that also what oriented you toward a crime film, which very often do take place in the provinces?
Exactly. And that is what may astonish my audience who will feel that this is a very distant world from the one inhabited by my usual characters.  But that procedure is much the same as when I began to write comedy sketches, whose characters were in fact very different from me. How To Make A Killing comes closer to my own tastes as a member of the audience. Even though I do love comedies, I am more naturally drawn to crime films.  

This incursion into film noir invited you onto the terrain of morality and ethics, whereas your previous films revolved mostly around the idea of lies…
Clearly. The title was even “Money can’t make you happy, my ass!” I wanted the film to be as amoral as possible. I wanted to avoid the classic terrain expected from characters in a comedy. Everyone is pretty-looking, nice to know? No! In the real world, not everyone is necessarily pretty to look at or nice to know.

And for the other roles you called on actors you are not usually associated with... Did that also have to do with your desire to enlarge your usual universe?
I went so far as to change casting directors on this film for one more specialized in “auteur” films.  Ultimately, there is only one actor in How To Make A Killing who comes from my universe. Christophe Canard, who plays the priest. All the others, from the forest ranger to the barmaid, come from another universe. Even for minor scenes: like the woman with her babies at the gendarmerie reception desk. My casting choices were in line with my desire to give the film another, more realistic feel.

Laure Calamy and Kim Higelin remain the most unexpected...
I knew that Laure could play both funny and tragic. But it’s what she did in Full Time that convinced me: bursting with energy but at the same time fragile. That was the Laure I wanted, not the more comical one in My Donkey, My Lover, And I. I couldn’t find the right actress for Kim’s part. I auditioned a lot of actresses. Very good actresses. But they all lacked that something original needed for the role. I was about to resort to street casting when someone suggested Kim. Her originality, her contemporaneity won me over. And then there is Joséphine de Meaux. Her aura of melancholy has always moved me. Aside from the empathy audiences feel for her.

On the other hand, Benoît Poelvoorde seems more in line with your comic universe. But you pushed him toward a more subdued register than he is used to.
Generally speaking, I immediately told all the actors: “Be careful, we’re going to make people laugh, but this is not a comedy. You need to act serious all the time. It will only be funny when it has to be.”  That is how I directed them, and they all respected my indications. I think that Benoît was delighted to abandon himself to his character. It would be a lie to say that we’ve never seen him like this before, but I think that here he was able to combine all of his various acting styles. Moreover, he had some voice problems during the shoot. At first, I was afraid that we might have to post-synchronize him. But no, that hoarseness brought a little something extra to the role.

How to Make a Killing / Un ours dans le Jura is now playing in cinemas.

Foto: (c) Julien Panié (c) 2024 Gaumont, Pour toi Public productions, France 2 Cinéma.

When Getafix falls from a tree while picking mistletoe he realizes his reflexes are not as sharp as they used to be, so he figures he is getting old. He decides to look for a successor.

With Asterix and Obelix on his side, he will embark on a quest across Gaul to find a druid worthy of knowing the recipe of the magic potion.

Directed by Louis Clichy and Alexandre Astier (Asterix: Mansion of the Gods), Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion is a new adventure in which we find the likeable characters created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo: Asterix, Obelix, Idefix, Getafix, but also... new characters like Tomcrus, Teleferix and Sulfurix.

Astérix: The Secret of the Magic Potion / Astérix: Le Secret de la Potion Magique can be seen on Kanal D as follows:

Sunday, 01 January 2023, 20:00

Monday, January 2, 2023, 11:00 p.m

In addition to film screenings, all open to the general public, the public will have the opportunity to participate in creative and facepainting workshops, juggling shows, pantomime, and a craft and contemporary design fair.

Entry to all KINOdiseea Open Air events is free, and the full program is available at www.kinodiseea.ro.

Three Prorom films can be seen during this event as follows:

August 26, 21:00 Monster Family 2, Director: Holger Tappe, General Audience, animation, 103 min.

August 27, 21:00 The Wolf and the Lion / Le Loup et le Lion, Director: Gilles de Maistre, General Audience, 99 min.

August 31, 21:00 Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion / Astérix: Le Secret de la Potion Magique, Director: Alexandre Astier, Louis Clichy, General Audience, 85 min.

Franck Dubosc was born on November 7, 1963 in Le Petit-Quevilly, Seine-Maritime, France.

He is an actor and writer, known for Rolling to You (2018), Camping (2006) and Asterix at the Olympic Games (2008). He has been married to Danièle since June 19, 2009. They have one child.

This week he can be seen in cinemas in Romania and Hungary in the comedy 10 Days Without Mum, distributed by Prorom.

What drew you in when you first read the script of 10 Days Without Mum?
Since this is a remake, I was able to see the original Argentinian film before reading the new script. It's a rare luxury to be able to see a finished product first, and get a sense of the project, then rediscover it anew as a new script for a French audience. This role of present-yet-absent father, who has many scenes with his children, was very appealing to me. Beyond the humor and the comedy, there is a sensibility, a dose of reality that I can relate to as a father in terms of how we see our kids or fail to see them.

Ludovic Bernard says he could only see you in this role. Did you feel like you had to seize this opportunity, and if so, why?
Let's just say that it corresponded perfectly to my wishes to act in films that are funny yet anchored in reality. I had seen The Climb and In Your Hands, two features directed by Ludovic, and I really wanted to work with him.

How would you describe your character, Antoine?
He represents a lot of men. He is selfish and career-driven; both usually go hand in hand. But he has blinders on. He is completely missing what's essential in his life, but in order to realize that his children are essential to his existence, he needs to see them—but he doesn't even look.

How did you shape the character?
I went with the flow. Everything was written, well written. The only difficulty was to go searching within yourself around children who are not your own and give them tenderness and love that appears credible. It's almost more indecent than a love scene with an actress who is not your wife. You keep having to tell yourself that this is just cinema, but the young ones don't really differentiate between fiction and reality.

You’re a father and must often be absent because of your roles in the theatre and on screen. What port of you did you bring to this role?
I have a profession that is extremely engaging, and I've tended to put my career before my children. My field will forget me long before they will; I know that now. To me, this film was a bit like therapy. When women don't work, men tend to tell them that they are free to do whatever they want once the kids have been dropped off at school. They don't realize the workload involved. Since the shoot, I never tell my wife that her days are easy even if she takes care of our two sons. In fact, she has seen 10 Days Without Mum and every time she tells me, "be careful, that's you in the film, that's honestly how you tend to be in real life."

What kind of notes did he give you?
He sometimes helped me simplify certain things in order to stay true to the character. We had many discussions and I trusted him completely. I didn't want him to be a customer of what I can do from a comedy standpoint. But, more and more, I'm forgetting how to be Franck Dubosc when I play in a movie.

Was it frightening to have dialogues with four children?
On the contrary. I have worked with kids a lot and I love it, because they don't cheat. The difficulty lies in being real around them, because you can't fake anything with them. Working with the youngest one was a bit more complicated. I had to win his affections, then be patient. He was the one calling the shots.

What do you think of the actresses you worked with, Aure Atiko and Alice David?
I knew Aure because we had appeared together in Traffic Peddling by Dominique Farrugia twenty years ago. I met Alice David for the first time. They are beautiful women, incredible actresses, and exceptional colleagues—what more is there to say? We collaborated with ease, with no complications. Compared to my character, they are obviously on a moral high ground. In fact, I would say that this is rightfully so, and that women will really relate to this film. And it would be good for men to question their own lives and realize that they are probably far less complicated. The role of men and fathers today is different than in prior generations. And it's for the best.

Would you say that the moral of the film is that women make men better?
I don't know if that's the takeaway of the film, but it's the truth. I would say that the moral is that one should look at what's right in front of them rather than seeking something far off. Real happiness is often right within our reach.

After the success of Asterix: Le Domaine des Dieux (2014) the director Alexandre Astier is bringing us to the cinemas a new adventure of the famous Gauls!

In january 2019 the characters created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo return in a new animated comedy!

In this new adventure, Asterix and Obelix embark on a quest across Gaul looking for a young druid worthy of learning the secret of the magic potion, after elderly village druid Getafix breaks his leg when he falls from a tree while picking mistletoe.

Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion will arrive in cinemas in january 2019 released in Romania by Prorom and Ro Image.