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Join Telegram Channel The Visitors duo met again in 2004 for this adaptation of René Pétillon's comic strip. See you again this Sunday on television.
L'Île de Beauté is in the spotlight this evening on France 2. The channel will first rebroadcast the action comedy The Corsican Investigationworn by the same duo asOperation Corned Beef And Visitors, Christian Clavier And Jean Renoarrived on the big screen 20 years ago, then The Clanadaptation of the successful play by Eric Fraticelli, released in cinemas in early 2023.
A clever scenario
Adapting Pétillon's cult comic strip, which tells the adventures of detective Jack Palmer in Corsica, was not an easy undertaking. “With its particular drawings, the comic strip was not easy to transpose to the cinema”, remembers Christian Clavier who plays the hero. In 2003, the actor had a rich idea: to draw inspiration very freely from the album. To write the screenplay with this in mind, he called on Michel Delgado, one of the best screenwriters of French comedies (known at the time for The Tenors Or The two dads and the momhe has since found Clavier to You don't choose your family). Taken into confidence by the actor, the designer René Pétillon agrees not to participate while maintaining a right of inspection. The designer, who adores the Isle of Beauty and its inhabitants, imposes only one condition: “Never make fun of the Corsicans.”
Pampered Corsicans
Christian Clavier, who owns a house in Porto-Vecchio, is also keen not to offend the legendary susceptibility of the islanders. A fine connoisseur of current customs on the island, he advises the production to involve its inhabitants in filming and, above all, to support the local economy. To supervise the filming, the production hired a security company close to the nationalists. Which causes slight friction when a technician makes a bad joke about the Corsicans. He is evacuated manu militari from the set…
For the supporting roles and extras, around forty Corsican actors are involved, including François Orsoni and the irresistible Eric Fraticelli, already famous for The Piaf and future creator of ClanSO. A colorful artist who we also know for the series Mafiosa.
“It’s impossible to make this film a success without these performers, with their sense of theatricality and their unique phrasing”explained a very political Christian Clavier upon its release. In the villages and towns where filming takes place, the producers also make sure to feed the 100 people on the team in local restaurants. This boost to the local economy comes at a high cost: nearly 4 million euros out of a total budget of 18 million. Better: the film premiere takes place in Porto-Vecchio, and not in Paris, as is customary.
Christian Clavier: “I have always loved interpreting French people”
A well-felt casting
Director Alain Berbérian (The City of Fear, The Boulet…) knows that the success of a comedy depends first of all on a pair of complementary actors. To respond to Clavier, he chose Jean Reno. Good fishing: these two old friends have already filmed the saga of Visitors together, as well as Operation Corned Beef. Their well-established tandem works wonderfully. To be more credible in the role of the nationalist Ange Leoni, Reno spends hours in the cafes of Sartène listening to the old people talking in Corsica. “I had to catch their accent, soak it up,” the actor will confess.
A tourist promotion
During the twelve weeks of filming, the team set up their cameras in the most beautiful sites on the island: Ospedale, Porto-Vecchio, L'Ile Rousse, Cervione, Bastia, Sartène and the impressive Aiguilles de Bavella, to the final scene filmed from a helicopter. The goal, assumed, is to promote tourism in Corsica. The scenario openly praises local specialties: Clavier gets drunk on myrtle alcohol while humming polyphonic songs…
In October 2004, 2.6 million French people will travel to cinemas to discover The Corsican Investigation. If we are far from the 13 million Visitorsit remains a considerable success, 15th in the top that year.
Jean-Baptiste Drouet
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