© Michel Hazanavicius
be to get them in. Even my best friends who saw it told me: «We loved it, but to be honest, we expected to be bored».
Blended – How did the project come about? Michel Hazanavicius – It was a combination of several factors, but above all, I had wanted to do it for a long time. I also worked with inspiring actors, who are like tools to the film and the project. After the success of OSS, I did not feel like directing another comedy. I needed something more challenging. I’ve always wanted to make a melodrama, a film entirely devoid of irony, where characters do not detract from narration. That was the film’s concept, but financing it was a different matter. That’s when Thomas Langmann came along. He played a major part. He even invested some of his own money without wondering if TV stations would be interested. It is a rare thing in today’s cinema industry to act without an investment plan. So he took risks, just like producers used to do. With this kind of film, we had no choice but excellence, so we needed money (editor’s note: a ten million euro budget). I reached all my goals with this film, we’ll see now if it is successful. People love it in Cannes, but the audience is only comprised of cinema lovers and my film deals with the very essence of cinema. So people here love it, but I don’t know about the mainstream audience. Once they are in the theatre, I know they will laugh and they will leave with a big smile on their faces. But the hardest will
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What is specific to the writing and the directing process of a black and white silent movie? M.H. – Nothing much. I did not have to change my way of working because I still feel like I know nothing about filmmaking. In fact, I watched a lot of silent films in order to understand how they worked. And I was thrilled. Restrictions bring new liberties. I immersed myself into this era and this cinematographical style. On the set, everything happened naturally. Writing influences directing. My work during the shooting was to make the actors’ work easier. For instance, I shot in 22 frames/ second, in order to obtain a look and feel, some sort of slow motion reminiscent of the 20s, that the actors did not have to simulate. I also played music on the set to put them in the mood and structure the scenes. I have no reason to mistreat my actors, they are my main tools. In the theatre, people only watch the actors. Is the casting paramount in this kind of project? M.H. – Of course, but even if they had turned it down, I would have made the film. It would just have been a different film. Obviously, Jean (Dujardin) and Bérénice (Béjo) are projections of my image of them. I thought about them when I wrote the film. Nevertheless, it is tricky for an actor. Personally, I don’t take any risk. I know I’ve been thinking about this project for a long time and I don’t appear on the screen. For example, Jean’s only experience with silent movies was Buster Keaton’s films, like everyone else. I had to draw the actors into
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