In a report listing decisions taken in July by the Film Fund Luxembourg’s selection committee, one project stands out beyond the others.
First of all, French speakers may recognise the title: Complètement cramé!, the book of the same name, has sold over a million copies. And second, the name John Malkovich--star of Burn After Reading and Being John Malkovich--appeared in the Film Fund’s summary of the project.
Behind the film is Bidibul Productions, the Luxembourg-based production company, and one of its founding partners, Christel Henon.
Seven years of waiting
“I read Gilles Legardinier’s Complètement cramé! in one night, on a plane. I loved the content, but also the spirit of it,” says Henon. “I then found his address and sent him a little note. Not much, two lines, to let him know how much I appreciated the depth behind the apparent lightness of his book. And then, underneath, I wrote a postscript, explaining that if he was interested in a film adaptation, I had a production company…”
The writer responded and a dialogue opened up between them. “[Legardinier] had already been approached by a few big companies, but he liked our exchange and our approach appealed to him.” And so Legardinier gave her the rights to his book.
That was seven years ago. Today, Christel Henon and Gilles Legardinier are working together on the project and have become friends. A first attempt to make the film was aborted in 2018, after which the covid-19 pandemic further postponed filming, which is now due to begin in February 2022.
Gilles Legardinier, pictured, has sold six million books worldwide Photo: DR
The project, which is mainly based in Luxembourg, comes with a budget of around €6m, of which the Film Fund is contributing €1.5m.
Legardinier to direct
Gilles Legardinier, whose books have been translated into 17 languages and distributed in 22 countries, will be behind the camera making his debut as a director. “But he will be in good hands. It’s not the first time we’ve worked together on a film… Gilles is really the ideal person for putting what he imagined onto the screen,” says Christel Henon, smiling. Her company has notably co-financed, among others, feature films Boule & Bill, On a Magical Night and Les Blagues de Toto.
The 53-year-old producer and co-writer would like to say more about this film, which will tell the story of an elderly English businessman (played by John Malkovich) who leaves his job to become a butler in France, the country where he met his wife. But for the moment it’s all hush-hush, as contracts are still being negotiated.
“In December, the film will go into production and promotion will be launched. I will then be able to say much more,” she says, notably eager to talk more about casting. “So, we’ll wait until then…”
This article in Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano.