21/03/2008

Shooting will get underway in the Jura on Wednesday on Patrice Leconte’s 24th feature, La guerre des miss (“The War of the Misses”).

Starring Benoît Poelvoorde and Olivia Bonamy (MR 73), the cast also includes Christian Charmetant, Laurent Gamelon and Jacques Mathou.

The director’s previous film, My Best Friend [+see also:
trailer
film profile], exceeded the 1m admissions threshold in France and occupies third position in the ranking of French films distributed last year in Italy.

Co-written by Fred Cavayé, Guillaume Lemans and Franck Chorot, La guerre des miss is set against a backdrop of rivalry between two villages: Super Charmoussey, a thriving ski resort, and Charmoussey, a small struggling village situated a few kilometres further down the hillside, at the foot of the valley.

Every year, a beauty contest is organised between the two villages, to select the young woman who will go on to compete for the title of Miss Franche-Comté, then Miss France. And for the past 22 years, the upper village has won, owing to its host of pretty girls who are coached by professionals invited to the resort.

In response to this situation, the mayor of Charmoussey invites back Franck (Poelvoorde), a native of those parts, who left for Paris 16 years ago to begin a career as an actor. Thrust into the role of beauty queen coach, Franck succeeds in motivating the participants and discovers the tricks used by the neighbouring village. He is also reunited with his former girlfriend Cécile (Bonamy) who has a few surprises in store for him.

But he isn’t all he seems either, for if the villagers imagine he has become famous, in reality he has scarcely managed to find work as a television extra.

In commenting on the screenplay, the director said: “It will be an opportunity for me to film in the provinces, which I love doing, being a provincial myself, and to direct a group of endearing characters, who are funny and real, without mockery”.

Produced by Chorot for Gaumont, La guerre des miss will have a nine-week shoot, including three weeks near Besançon, in the villages of Vuillafans and Mongesoye. In mid-April, the team will relocate to the Paris area for six weeks, for the most part filming in a studio in Grosrouvre.

The film is set to be released domestically on January 7, 2009 by Gaumont, who will also handle international sales.

Leconte will then set to work on another film whose screenplay is currently being penned by American novelist Douglas Kennedy.

(Translated from French)