On October 4, 2024, French actor and director Michel Blanc died at the age of 72. Since the announcement of his death, the tributes have continued to multiply. Most of them coming from his former colleagues at Splendid and his friends from the 4th arrondissement of Paris. However, among these unanimous praises, a dissonant voice appeared, that of the composer René-Marc Bini.
Memories of a complex collaboration
Composer of film scores since the 1990s, René-Marc Bini collaborated with Michel Blanc on the filming of Grosse Fatigue, a comedy today described as “awesome” by the composer himself. But this filming was not without difficulties!
In an interview with Cinézik, the composer highlighted the disorganized nature of Michel Blanc. A characteristic which according to him made their collaboration complicated: “He didn’t know at all what he wanted, he spent his time telling me that I had to pay attention to the music, because in a comedy the music is difficult, that we don’t have the right to do something that is emotional, because it breaks the comedy” he said.
An experience that is both chaotic and rewarding
However, René-Marc Bini does not have bitter memories of his collaboration with Michel Blanc. In his interview, he said in particular: “His distrust was not a distrust of me, it was in relation to the music, it was nothing personal”.
The composer only regrets that their work was not more fluid: “It’s just a shame not to move forward hand in hand in something. I spent a lot of time coming up with things that were very different from each other. I even suggested a Spanish bolero which seemed to please him. Then finally I put it in a drawer”he added.
But despite the difficulties that marked their collaboration, René-Marc Bini remains admiring of Michel Blanc, whom he considers to be a brilliant and intelligent being. For him, working with such a personality was an honor, even if it was not always easy. The composer therefore has mixed memories of this collaboration, between appreciation and regret.
