Raphaël Quenard will play Johnny Hallyday in a biopic produced by Laeticia Hallyday and directed by Cédric Jimenez, the director of “Bac Nord”.
Last Friday, Closer announced that Raphaël Quenard would play Johnny Hallyday in a film produced by Laeticia Hallyday, a competing project to that of Jalil Lespert with Matthias Schoenaerts in the title role.
Today, Paris Match publishes a long article devoted to the feature film of the former companion of the youth idol. Laeticia Hallyday had her biopic idea in mind for a long time but the stars were not aligned. “Something didn’t add up, the exchanges were complicated. I felt like I was betraying Johnny by embarking on projects that seemed to me to lack a bit of madness, of rock’n’roll. “ explains the former companion of the youth idol in the columns of the magazine.
She adds that she would like to produce a film “at the height of the rocker and the man I loved madly, sometimes in pain, for twenty-three years.“
The choice of Raphaël Quenard
Last December, when she came to France to inaugurate the exhibition dedicated to Johnny, Laeticia watched a film on the plane: Yannick by Quentin Dupieux. She immediately fell for the French actor. “I was amazed by his acting, his looks, his way of occupying space, of speaking, his spontaneity, his almost animal charisma… I said to myself that if any actor could play Johnny in the cinema, it was him .“
Arriving in Paris, she met producer Hugo Selignac and discussed the project with him. The latter whispers the name of a director and that’s the trigger.
PRODUCTION WORKSHOP/CHI-FOU-MI PRODUCTIONS/QUENTIN DUPIEUX 2023
Raphaël Quenard in Yannick
A biopic directed by the director of Bac Nord
It is therefore Cédric Jimenez, director of La French, Bac Nord and Novembre who will direct the feature film. Laeticia remembers on the microphone of Paris Match “of Johnny’s fascination with Cédric during their meeting one New Year’s Eve at our home in Gstaad“, at the time of the filming of La French.
Cédric Jimenez in turn remembers: “At the beginning there were a lot of us and as the evening went on, the Taulier, who was a little fed up, emptied the house, giving leave to those he wanted to see leave… Gilles (Lellouche), Jean (Dujardin) and I are We stayed late, we discussed cinema, we danced, we had a laugh. That evening, I caught a glimpse of the man behind the star. And what struck me was his immense humility. Johnny showed himself to be excessively sympathetic, detached from himself. He answered questions while looking you straight in the eye. I remember that look…“
Telling rock through Johnny is an extraordinary project, that of a lifetime.
The filmmaker, more accustomed to thrillers, explains that he immediately agreed to make this biopic. “When Hugo called me to tell me about his meeting with Laeticia it only took me half a second to say yes, because the image of Raphaël playing Johnny appeared to me as obvious and because I I felt capable of telling the story of rock through Johnny is an extraordinary, exceptional project, that of a lifetime. It is a dream and an enormous responsibility to bring to the screen a character who has ignited the crowds and counted. in the life of four generations to the point of changing it for some. To fully thank him, we will have to allow ourselves, like him, to free ourselves from conventions.
A year of preparation and a lot of work
Hugo Sélignac therefore organizes a first meeting with Laeticia, Raphaël Quenard et Cedric Jimenez. The actor, winner of the César for Best Male Newcomer for his role in Junkyard Dog, is aware of the scale of the work. He declares to Paris Match : “To give life to this being of light, to the paroxysm of the notion of sharing and communion, it will take a lot of work.”
Raphaël Quenard will have a year of preparation to become Le Taulier. He will be surrounded by coaches for physique, voice and choreography and will of course have at his disposal archive images and objects that belonged to Johnny Hallyday. “I am going to dedicate myself fully, methodically, to this preparation, probably for a short year.” adds the actor.
Dominique jacovides / bestimage
Johnny Hallyday
Cédric Jimenez, with whom he already collaborated on the film Novembre, adds: “Raphaël will begin by immersing himself, week after week, month after month, eating, drinking and thinking about Johnny to get closer. He doesn’t have to play, he has to be Johnny at the finish. It’s a big journey. He will cover 85% of the way alone. I’ll help him with the remaining 15%. The magic of cinema, the sets, the costumes will further add to this work.”
Released for the 10th anniversary of Johnny’s death
The filming of this feature film is planned for 2026 for a release scheduled for December 8, 2027, i.e. 10 years after the death of Johnny Hallyday.
Concerning the Phoenix project, of his former companion Jalil LespertLaeticia Hallyday declares: “Jalil was already writing and contacted me at the time to have the rights. Three months of discussions followed, then something happened between us. Jalil continued his desire and his work around this film. It is normal that a destiny gives rise to vocations. I could ban certain things, but I don’t intend to.”
