ESRA students met with director and screenwriter Patrice LECONTE on Thursday December 3, 2020, as part of the new season of ESRA Thursdays.
Patrice LECONTE had his first big success in the 1980s with Les Bronzés and Les Bronzés font du ski, brought to life by the cast of the Splendid troupe. He then went on to star in several comedies with the same troupe and other actors such as Coluche, Bernard GIRAUDEAU and Gérard LANVIN. In the 1990s, he made his dramatic breakthrough with Tandem , starring Gérard JUGNOT and Jean ROCHEFORT. Tandem earned him a César nomination for Best Director, as did Monsieur Hire, Le Mari de la coiffeuse, The Girl on the Bridge. And with Ridicule that he finally won a César in 1997. Patrice LECONTE continued his career, mixing comedy, drama and an animated film.
The students were able to view Tandem in advance of the meeting and discuss technical aspects of the film with the director. Patrice LECONTE talked about his work on images and the particular grain he adopted for this film. He also talked about his work on the music and the creation of a sad, despairing Italian love song to illustrate the two characters. The song Il mio rifugio was written and composed by François BERNHEIM especially for the film, and performed by Riccardo Cocciante. Thanks to this film, he understood that cinema was a musical affair, and that music should not take a back seat.
Patrice LECONTE then went on to talk about directing actors and his adventures with them; his conflict with Jean ROCHEFORT on his first film, then the bond of loyalty they built up, with whom he made 7 films. He also created an environment of family and trust with the Splendid troupe. For him, actors are not puppets; you have to love them to get the best out of them. His scripts are always well-written, leaving little room for improvisation, although the actors can bring their own madness, inventions and rarities to the table.
Before starting a shoot, the director makes sure he has worked out the script sufficiently, and to do this, he systematically works with a co-writer. In particular, he builds his scripts around two characters whose meeting or association is improbable or touching. From the start of development to editing, he generally takes less than a year. He watches the rushes during shooting, and when he realizes he's missed a sequence, he doesn't hesitate to say so and turn it around. He sees constraints, whatever they may be, as a driving force for creation, because you have to get around them and go in a different direction. It's during editing that he allows himself to question the construction of the film.
Patrice LECONTE concluded the meeting with the students by suggesting that they impose their ideas, believe in them and be proud of what they achieve. He makes films because he likes to share his emotions, and advised them to always ask themselves why they want to make films. For his next film, Tintin et les Bijoux de la Castafiore, his ambition is to shoot in live action, obviously respecting Hergé's vision. He'd like even the smallest role to be played by someone famous, so that the actor can go beyond the iconic comic book roles.
