Biopics about musicians are a dime a dozen, but the genre is experiencing a much-needed shake-up. Whether it's Morgan Neville's animated film 'Piece By Piece,' which premieres on the final night of the London Film Festival and follows the life of Pharrell Williams in Lego form, or Michael Gracey's 'Better Man,' a Robbie Williams biopic featuring the singer portrayed by a monkey, more music biopics are taking bold, unconventional paths to avoid audience fatigue.
Now, following the success of Joann Sfar's 2010 film 'Gainsbourg, vie héroïque,' in which Éric Elmosnino played the legendary French singer, a new animated documentary based on an interview with Serge Gainsbourg two years before his death is in the works. The film, titled 'Gainsbourg: Rue de Verneuil,' will be presented at the International Audiovisual Market in Italy alongside the Rome International Film Festival. It is based on an interview conducted by journalist Christian Fevret for the French magazine Les Inrockuptibles. The discussion was one of Gainsbourg's last before he died of a heart attack at the age of 62 on March 2, 1991.
In the extensive interview, Gainsbourg talked about his childhood, the Second World War and anti-Semitism, as well as his relationship with art and fame. According to Variety, Gilles Cayatte, known for directing documentaries like 'Justin Trudeau, l'autre Amérique' (2018), 'Erdogan l'ivresse du pouvoir' (2016), and 'L'Ascension et la Chute de Carlos Ghosn' (2020), will direct the film from a script he co-wrote with Daniela de Felice. Cyril Houplain will serve as artistic director, bringing his unique biro style to the project.
Logical's Frédéric Fiore and The Jokers Lab's Carole Mirabello are producing the film. Mirabello told Variety that the idea for the feature dates back to the late-2000s when she met Fevret. "Fast forward to 2016, and he handed me the entire collection of audio tapes, suggesting they might be the foundation for a film," said Mirabello. "The conversation was so personal and raw that I struggled to envision how to bring it to life through conventional archival footage." She added, "It wasn't until 2023 that inspiration struck: the story would be best told through animation, capturing the unique encounter between a young journalist and an iconic artist."
The interview tapes, which total more than 11 hours and include many "sensitive inner reflections" that had never been published before, presented a challenge for Houplain. He sought "a graphic style and visual material that are intrinsic, organically and sensorially charged with the Gainsbourg spirit from the very first glance." His ballpoint pen style was deemed the "ideal vector for transcending and expressing all the complexity and range of emotions that run through this interview and its protagonist."
The iconic musician had a career marked by public scandals and tumultuous love affairs. However, the creators insist their aim is not to judge Gainsbourg but to explore the nature of genius and the behaviors that accompany it. Cayatte shared with Variety, "We are not putting this man on trial. This is not the objective. It's easy, in this day and age, to judge and to sentence. I think we tried to ask the question in a different way." He added, "Maybe the film will hopefully ask the question if it's acceptable to go through all this and be called a genius. Is being a genius good enough to behave like this?"
No release date for the documentary has been announced.
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