2023-05-07 09:00:00
D1949 to the early 1960s, when the filming of The truthby Henri-Georges Clouzot, before the birth of his son Nicolas, we follow, in the sets of the 1950s, the beginnings of a young girl from a good family, a trained dancer, junior model for the magazine Elle and soon to be a film actress.
After her meeting with Roger Vadim, whom she married at the age of 18, Brigitte Bardot will find glory at the age of 22 with And God created the womanwhich inflames the whole world and condemns her to live hidden from the paparazzi, far from collective hysteria.
Danièle Thompson, both screenwriter for her father Gérard Oury (La Grande Vadrouille, Delusions of grandeur…)for Claude Pinoteau (La Boom) or Patrice Chéreau (Queen Margot, Those who love me will take the train) and successful director (La Bûche, Orchestra seats), seized, with her son Christopher Thompson, this myth to make a miniseries in six episodes, the first of which is broadcast on France 2 Monday, May 8.
Point : What was your main idea when you decided to launch yourself, with your son Christopher, into writing and directing this miniseries on Brigitte Bardot?
Danielle Thompson : Initially, it was a proposal from producer Pascal Breton who told us about this idea of retracing the life and career of BB. At first, we were a little reluctant, not very inspired, because we thought we had seen and read a lot about her. Then, we realized that there were above all a lot of things that we didn’t know.The idea that charmed us was to tell the story of a very young girl with very young boys in an era, the 1950s, which belong – oh how! – in another century, before the explosion of the 1960s. We had material there to create a very romantic story
Much has been written about Brigitte Bardot. How did you document yourself?
We met a lot of people who knew her at that time. Myself, I met her briefly once when I was very young – I am eight years younger than her. When she was 20, I was 12. We read a lot of biographies and books written by talent agent Olga Horstig, producer Raoul Lévy and, of course, by Roger Vadim. I also found the testimonies of his entourage, such as the producer Christine Gouze-Rénal, with whom I worked. In fact, I learned a lot of things from an era, from a universe that I thought I knew well.
READ ALSOBrigitte Bardot tackles the “con biopic” of France 2About the series, you say: “It’s the story of a young girl who, like the others, seeks love and success, but whose dreams are shattered against the hysteria she unleashes. Is this the idea of a thwarted destiny?
Yes, it’s a bit like that because she could have had the fate of other young girls of her time who succeed in the cinema. You should know that she shot seventeen films before And God created the woman (1956). I remember the series of English comedies with Dirk Bogarde, Doctor at Sea (1955) in which she had the lead role. One year later, And God created the woman rocked the whole world.
The film is however moderately received by critics in France…
Yeah, it didn’t go well. Until the day when the film was seen by the boss of Columbia, Harry Cohn, designated today as a great specialist in promotion on the sofa. He fell in love with the film, the reels of which had been given to him by the producer, the brilliant Raoul Lévy [joué par Yvan Attal, NDLR]. And God created the woman was released in several cities in the United States, which was never done for a French film. Huge success, mixed with scandal, which returns like a boomerang in France.
Is it, for you, the film which is at the origin of the myth, of the Bardot phenomenon?
Oh, yes, definitely. This is the film that changes everything. It is both a tremendous opportunity for Brigitte Bardot and a disaster that befalls her. It’s a 21-year-old girl who finds herself, overnight, locked in a jar, unable to move, leave her home, go to a restaurant without triggering real hysteria, riots. She can no longer live normally.
Your miniseries takes place over ten years, from 1949 to 1959. Did this decade condition the destiny and life of BB?
These are founding years. In the last episode, we went as far as Henri-Georges Clouzot’s film, The truth ; where she is magnificent while the shooting was very complicated, very hard for her. These are pivotal years that culminate in a crazy story that surpasses her and everyone else. Even today, in front of her house, La Madrague, in Saint-Tropez, there are boats that turn every hour, with megaphones to indicate that she lives there. A hell.
READ ALSOWhen the sublime Bardot danced flamenco for the New YearDoes it interest young people today who probably know little or nothing about it?
I would very much like 20-year-olds who, in fact, probably know little or nothing about her, to simply discover the story of this young girl who looks like them, surrounded by characters who are 20 years old, like them. They are very young compared to old not so old who are only 40 years old.
Today, everyone, not just artists, is chasing fame. BB is the example of a celebrity who triggers hysteria. How do you explain it?
She could very well have lived a normal celebrity when she suffered something that had never happened before: hysteria, dementia. Few people knew about the private life of Marilyn Monroe. She still symbolized the unattainable star in her way of dressing, wearing jewelry, playing the blondes unlike BB, who gave the impression that everyone could look like her and identify with her.
READ ALSOBrigitte Bardot disgusted with Saint-Tropez: “It will become Miami here! » Why do you think she reacted negatively to your show?
I think it’s a bit of a visceral reaction. She will see the series or she won’t see it. Anyway, I wrote her a letter to let her know that I was doing a story about her and she wrote back. I think she was afraid that she would be harassed again and asked for her opinion when she didn’t want to get involved in that at all.
Indeed, it is still a strange attitude to sit in front of a screen and watch what other people have done with your life. With my son Christopher, we have respected her a lot throughout history. In the letter she sent me, I understood that she was kind to us and reassured that this series is in our hands.
READ ALSOBrigitte Bardot: “I’m happy not to be 20 now” Will there be a sequel to Bardot ?
For the moment, we don’t think about it at all. We are too invested in this first adventure. We’ll see for the second.
« Bardot »dramatic miniseries in six episodes, written and directed by Danièle and Christopher Thompson (2023), with Julia de Nunez, Victor Belmondo, Oscar Lesage, Noham Edje, Yvan Attal, Anne Le Ny, Géraldine Pailhas, Hippolyte Girardot… First episode Monday 8 May, 9:10 p.m., on France 2 and on the france.tv platform.
#crazy #story #surpasses