[interview] Fred Cavayé – A-blank range

A small week before the release of’the End Bearing, the latest film from Fred Cavayé, the production, in a spirit of generosity princely, has organized a screening for bloggers, their friends, and the friends of their friends. The atmosphere was warm and, by the icy cold that it was outside of the room, and it was well needed. Before the screening, the director gave us a little speech to remind us that he is breton, as it is often said that thrillers French are “all rotten” is that it has the intention to change things. An hour and a half later and after having (a little) harassed the press, the Blog of the Film gets an interview with him to develop it.

Even before I could put one, as I am interrupted to the following 3 groups of fans who come to him to say how much they liked his film and to what extent it is awesome. One of them will push even the flattery to him to announce that he considers thatthe End Bearing is THE Heat French. Fred Cavayé smiles, takes the time to respond to each of them, and even has the good taste to apologize to me.

One can think what one wants ofthe End Bearing, but Fred Cavayé is in any case a nice guy, available and open, speaks frankly and respects his interlocutor. During the twenty minute interview, we talk about the work of director, actors, thriller, of his plans for the future… andAlain Delon.

[WARNING : this interview contains spoilers]

Your movie is only 1: 24, and all the action is compressed into a period super short… time, it’s an obsession with you ?

Has death. There are too many movies that last 1 hour 40 minutes and that one pisses for 10 minutes. In Taken, the exhibition lasts 35 minutes. I said to myself ” I’m going to do 5 “. The couple kiss for 30 seconds, and we will say that they love each other. This is an advantage, because the people who need to put things into the character to move forward are going to put stuff in-game characters. You see, in To It, you’ve got a father and a son who will not speak, and I will explain why. The guys who have read it in the boxes of the prod, they said, ” but he’s crazy, we don’t write it as a script, should tell the liabilities of a story B…” I said bullshit ! I do not : a father and a son talking more, and we will not say why. This is an advantage, because at the moment when they must leave, the people who see the film are putting their own relationship with their father. And they chialent because they have the impression that it is them who have to leave their father. I’m simplifying, but you see… when you read a book, you’ll make yourself the head of the hero, and there are plenty of stuff that you have to imagine. Must be able to make it in the movies, and the viewer is much more involved and takes much more pleasure.

So in fact, action movies, it is literature ?

No, it is the opposite. For me, the dialogues in the movies are the literature, therefore, I speak almost none. The film, it is the image, I want the actors to tell the stuff. Roschdy Zem said 3 words, and people say to me ” damn what is that it is terrific.” You see, literature has a big advantage over film is that you can be you-even the colors of things, you have the impression that it is you who write. Me, I write movies where the viewer needs to be a little writer.

But at the same time you take when the same time to explain a lot of things. At the level of the dynamic narrative, for example : the film could have been just as well if you had not told what is on the USB key, the Ronin, and it means you have freed up a little time yet dead.

Yeah, why not. It is an idea, but after that, it was complicated. The problem is that, in thrillers, the more you hide stuff, the more has to be explained. There was a time when two dudes sit like it is there, and that there should be one that says to the other ” good, now, you’ll see… “, and it is necessary to avoid. I was forced to go through it, and I put a flashback in order to avoid the dialogues, but the question was not that I hide too much stuff. It can be a runway, huh… technically, this is interesting.

So, the research of the pace and of the story by the image, it goes in the direction, the framing and the lights also… There is a small passage at the beginning that evokes a bit of the atmosphere in Blade Runner, this is a coincidence ?

It is a nice compliment for my chef-operator ! He is Alain Duplantier, this is a genius. In all the action scenes, for example in the escalator, Gilles is not double, it’s great… When you see it, there is a guy who is filming and who is doing the same thing, but with a camera ! We do not think, it is so damn good that you think you do not to this guy… Alain Duplantier is crazy, and he’s doing stuff that few operators would be willing to do.

You understand ?

Nan. You know, a developer is someone who has an oversized ego. What I’m going to tell you, the filmmakers say rarely : make a film it is to know how to fully use the talent of others. I’m going to work with people who will sublimate ideas that I can have, or propose something that goes further, and I’d like to go back and I climb even higher. I always take the example of Karajan, the greatest conductor in the world. If you put him a crappy piano, and a guy who knows not to play the violin, it’s going to be all rotten. A director is the same. I do not know to compose music, so I’ll go look for a guy who is the best for action films among the people with whom you can work in France.

Same for the casting, you only pick what is best ?

I’ll tell you : to expect to make an average movie, should try to have perfection in everything. The casting is the sinews of war, which gives flesh to the movie. It is necessary that all the actors are good, even the guy who opens a door and says ” Hey Bill, McCoy is here.” If he does that as I have just seen you do it, it is all rotten, you believe in it more. The dialogues, the music, and it sounds like music. If the music glue not…

Vincent Lindon, he sings false ? Basically, it is him who should have the primary role of the end-bearing, non ?

I realized that he must never think of the casting before writing the film. I originally wanted to do the film with Roschdy Zem played the role of Samuel, the nurse, and Vincent Lindon in the role of a gangster. It wouldn’t have been the same movie, and it wouldn’t have been the right idea. Very soon, Vincent and I knew it.

He saw that the role was not for him ?

Yeah, of course. He told me, ” I’m over the other, the caregiver, but the problem is we are going to do it For Her.” This is it, I will remake Vincent Lindon who tries to save his wife. So we said, ” you are on a movie after “.

Therefore, we will find Vincent Lindon in your next film ?

Maybe. I’m going to make a thriller which is happening in Canada, in the forest. This is a guy who dreamed since childhood to be a lumberjack like his father. His father was killed in the forest by something that is natural or supernatural, we don’t know, but it is not an accident. He finds himself twenty-five years after to go to work where his father is dead, they are 10 and they die one by one, killed by the same thing. We will know at the end that kills.

This is the fantastic, horror, something like that ?

You will see at the end ! Americans do that very well in films such as the Others, The Sixth sense or Unbreakable, you don’t know if it’s fantastic or not. It’s more that in France, people did it in the 50s. You see, Marchal has reopened the door to a thriller, and one can make detective films. I would like to not re-open the door, I have not this claim, but go on a type of thriller that we have done over here, and that is not necessarily on a background of a detective film.

Gift, a priori, your influences, they would rather us ?

Of course, this is the film that I saw on tv when I was a kid. The Samurai, The weapons of Choice, but now they are mostly in movies such as Jason Bourne, this is the current reference when you do action scenes urban. When I make a film with the man in the world, which is inevitably also The death to the kits, of Hitchcock. After that, it’s a mixture of lots of things… I often say that my influences are between Claude protestant redemption church and Jason Bourne. It is as wide as that.

Yeah, finally, your character is a normal-type, whereas Jason Bourne was practically superhuman.

Yeah, of course ! Me what I love about it is that the viewer feel physically things, and that you can identify with.

And we can’t identify if the character is super strong, is that it ?

Yeah that’s it. Gilles, everyone identifies with him : all the girls want that to be their guy, and all the guys would like to be like that and do the same for their chick. With this film, I wanted to do something almost interactive, you see as a video game. That is to say that at a time you’re… you’re Lara Croft. Bah Gilles Lellouche is Lara Croft !

Precisely. In your two films, the women have roles, ultra-passive, and it is the guys who act for them while they have the ass sitting on a chair, as objects. You’d be not a little misogynist on the edges ?

Bah no, it is not object : I have not invented anything, it is the knight who will save the princess from the dungeon. They are the quest, the Grail. The guy runs to save what is most dear in the world. It is funny that you tell me that, I think not to be misogynist, I hope not. A lot of people say to me, ” in the end, you’re romantic ! “The problem is that if one says to me” you’ll see it is awesome it is a thriller romantic “, I’m not, that’s just rotten.

And you could make an action film with a leading female character ?

But of course ! And with Guillaume Lemans started to write a scenario where the roles are reversed, that is to say that this is the chick that needs to do everything to go and save her boyfriend.

The more manly of the cast, it’s still Gérard Lanvin, even if he belongs to the previous generation…

It is a passing of the torch. It comes because there is Roschdy and Gilles. It is great that he has accepted it, it was not obvious to slip a third role, and that he agrees to do a role he had never done, that is to say, a true cocksucker. It came in 12 days. It is a wonderful gift.

Moreover, it’s funny he says ” When Fred offered me the role of a cocksucker, I would have been stupid to not accept it, then as I’d rather be a cocksucker than a con, I accepted. “

This is what I call a quote.

Yeah, but then you can hardly say it in your article because it should not be too deflower. You can really say that it has a role a little darker than what they usually play. If you say that it is a cocksucker, it spoils a bit the whole thing… spoiler !

One last question… Alain Delon is in the credits of the end credits. Why ?

Because the character of Roschdy Zem is called Sartet, and it is the name of Alain Delon in The Sicilian clan. It is a tribute to the Samurai. It is weird to give his name to the Clan of the Sicilians to pay tribute to the Samurai, but for me, Roschdy Zem embodies a kind of image of a gangster to the French of the 70s, such as Alain Delon in the Samurai. It allowed me to write him a letter. Very friendly, he phoned me, to allow me, to tell me that it was even an honor, that he was really loved For It… Alain Delon you phone, you talk to the Samurai, he say, ” I love what you do “, it made me my day !