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PRODUCTION France

Salinger’s La Grande Vie starts shooting

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Shooting kicks off today in Saint-Etienne on the debut directorial feature by actor-screenwriter Emmanuel Salinger: La Grande Vie (“The High Life”).

The cast includes seasoned actor Michel Boujenah (Three Men and a Cradle) and rising star Laurent Capelluto (A Christmas Tale [+see also:
film review
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), as well as Hélène Fillières, Céline Salette, Frédérique Bel, Maurice Bénichou, Bernard Lecoq, Louise Blachère and Gilles Cohen in a minor role.

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Co-written by the director, Pascal Bonitzer, Christine Dory, Camille Fontaine and Marcia Romano, La Grande Vie explores – in a comic tone – the fantasy and desire of escaping one’s situation and discovering the ever-deferred "true life" that we really desire.

This existential issue is examined through the chance encounter of Grégoire, a modest philosophy teacher (Capelluto) and Patrick, a leading television presenter (Boujenah). This encounter changes the course of their lives, in particular the latter’s.

Having first come to attention through his work as a co-screenwriter and actor for Arnaud Desplechin (La Vie des morts; 1993 Cesar for Best Male Newcomer for The Sentinel), Salinger has also appeared in films by Patrice Chéreau (Queen Margot) and Eric Rohmer (Triple Agent). Moreover, he has co-written films by Xavier Beauvois (Don’t Forget You’re Going to Die), Noémie Lvovsky (Forget Me) and Pascal Bonitzer (Small Cuts), and the animated feature Max & Co [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
.

Produced by Yaël Fogiel and Laetitia Gonzalez for Les Films du Poisson, La Grande Vie is co-produced by Arcapix and Rhône-Alpes Cinéma. The title received a €430,000 advance on receipts from the National Film Centre (CNC) and €190,000 in backing from the Centre Region.

Scheduled to last 38 days, the shoot will relocate to Lyons and Tours in December before wrapping up in Paris in January after a break at the end of the year. Le Pacte will handle domestic distribution while international sales are still under negotiation.

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(Translated from French)

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