Given that the heat wave was surprisingly easier to live with when on the Alicante coast in Spain, we decided to make another study trip to the land of the Iberians. We went from 36° C in the streets of the new capital of the Gauls to a mere 32°C by the Mediterranean. You can imagine the difference that made.
Seriously though, we do have to regularly go and take the pulse of this mammoth project being prepared in utmost secrecy at the new city of cinema, "la Ciudad de la Lùz". The studio in Alicante has pulled all stops in order to avoid any problems during this crazy shoot. There are thousands of extras, a team of over 250 technicians, air-conditioned trailers for the 50 actors (and what actors!)... It's like a nomad town which moves a few dozen or few hundred metres, depending on the sequences, and in which jobs are handed out in a quasi-military fashion. A major film is like a campaign, pre-organised, in which everyone is supposed to know their job. Frédéric Forestier (director) and Thomas Langmann (producer and co-director) who seem to be doing their utmost to ensure everything goes well, follow all the battle plans drawn up during the pre-production period to the letter. It's essential when you have to direct huge talents such as Gérard Depardieu, Benoît Poelvoorde or Alain Delon! A few words on this historic adventure!
The shock of meeting the new Caesar is something that will stick with me! On arriving on the set on Thursday, 20 July, we suddenly see an imperial hand being offered from high in the tribune over on the right side of the Olympic Stadium.
Just as the Romans win an event (I won't tell you which one...), we hear Alain Delon/Jules Caesar proclaim against a backdrop of utter silence one of his tirades from the film, "Caesar finds these games highly enjoyable!" Impressive stuff! Jules Caesar 2008 will remain one of the most convincing incarnations of the famous character reviewed and corrected by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo in 1968. With gilded laurels on his head and a carmine red cape over his shoulders, time doesn't seem to have touched the charisma of this Delon/Caesar! Respect and attention guaranteed from the filming teams! And that's not all: there's Obelix/Depardieu, better than ever, who has just joined the scene with a thundering speech, and Benoît/Brutus who brings his own brand of craziness (with its incredible modernity and comic effects) and Clovis Cornillac, our new Asterix, who manages the feat of incarnating this character in a way I would never have thought possible. And then there's Monica Cruz (the splendid younger sister of Penelope) and Vanessa Hessler (a new beauty to be revealed in the film) to round things off. I have to say, it's a sheer delight to see this close a connection between the comic book and the film! You have Doubleclix's word!
We will, of course, come back to this star-studded cast later, but remember that what is happening here in Hispania is very special. Here's a historical epic worthy of Gladiator or Troy but with Asterix's humour. What we'll get is not a film that resembles either the first or the second, or even a mix of the two, but rather an entirely different kind of film: the first film to show every facet of the comic book's universe, both visual and spiritual!
Things are looking good for 2008 then! Jump on the Gaulish bandwagon quickly, before it fills up. The production of Asterix 3 fulfils our ambitions to do justice to the unique work created nearly 48 years ago by our druids René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo! By the way, I haven't washed my right hand since that historic Thursday: besides wearing a glove, what other choice do I have?