Who would have thought that this parody of Jackass would have met with such success in France? Initially, the ambition of 11 Commandments was to offer fans of Morning Live the film of their dreams. Carried by the trio Michaël Youn, Vincent Desagnat and Benjamin Morgaine in 2003, the film with a budget of 5 million euros prides itself on bringing together stars such as the footballer Djibril Cissé, Amélie Mauresmo or the very controversial comedian Dieudonné (who was almost removed from the film). If the filming was very complicated, the energy carried by the band allowed the film to be released, but not without difficulty: at the end of the filming, the production included two trials, seven arrests, around fifteen police checks, and this , not counting the approximately 400,000 euros paid in damages. Twenty years later, The 11 commandments is the most broadcast film on television in Europe, and benefits from considerable profitability, thanks to the sale of the DVD edition, which offers a second film with previously unreleased sketches.
#1 Michael Youn
We owe the success of 11 Commandments largely thanks to the popularity of Michaël Youn, the comedian who made himself known by hosting the Morning Live on M6 from 2000 to 2002, then in At Beuze in 2003. He followed several films, but he undoubtedly stood out in Fatal which he co-wrote, directed and performed, and in which he reconnected with his character of Fatal Bazooka, created at the time for the Morning Live. The film was a great success upon its release in 2010, and brought together more thana million spectators in theaters. Michaël Youn then made more brief appearances, and changed register to play more dramatic, and much less striking, roles.
Recently, he is starring in the film It's the world upside down by director Nicolas Vanier alongside Valérie Bonneton and Yannick Noah, which was released in theaters on October 16, 2024. It was during the promotion of the film that he confided on his private life, and his shift towards a more peaceful life, far from the hustle and bustle of the city. “I have since moved permanently to the countryside, in the south of France. I won't say where because burglaries exist (…) I have fields, I have a tractor, a vegetable garden, I I have my own tomatoes, I make my own radishes.
#2 Vincent Desagnat
Just like Michaël Youn, Vincent Desagnat is a former member of the Morning Live. Less known for his status as an actor than for hosting shows (on Fun Radio and Radio Nova), Vincent Desagnat enjoyed success – like his sidekick – via the parody boy band Bratisla Boys, then Conards in 2003, title which served as the soundtrack of Eleven Commandments, for which he co-wrote the screenplay with his friend. Return to animation in October 2006, until March 2013 for the show W9 menu on W9, where he comments on several successful Japanese TV shows, including Takeshi Castle, with Benjamin Morgaine. In 2024, he participates in season 6 of Mask Singerunmasked by the public under the costume of the Pickle.
#3 Benjamin Morgaine
Benjamin Morgaine is known as the third thief of the gang Morning Live. He is also part of the trio Bratisla Boys and Fatal Bazooka, makes an appearance in the film At Beuze by playing the role of the DJ, and is co-writer on 11 Commandments. After W9 menu in the years 2000/2010, he found his friend Vincent Desagnat in Meilleur des what the fun games in this year 2024, in a series of programs again focused on Takeshi Castle. But this time, the two hosts go further: wigs, costumes, jokes and punchlines are on the program. The first show was broadcast on Gulli last March.
#4 William Geslin
Willian Geslin is less known than the three braggarts of the Morning Live. But this native of Marseillais is a jack of all trades. French DJ, producer and composer, he moved into production after having played in several festivals, and notably produced Gad Elmaleh's only record and video clip. (It’z kyz mai life)the afro-funk composition with Fela Kuti, a title by Florent Pagny or Joey Starr. In 2005 he received an NRJ Award for the film's soundtrack The Eleven Commandments, and in 2008, an NRJ Award for the music video Talk to my hand by Fatal Bazooka. At the same time, he made a career in luxury real estate focusing on architecture, design and construction.
#5 Hichem Bonnefoi
Hichem Bonnefoi, known as Tefa, has a career in the rap world. Disc jockey, producer, beatmaker, he notably met Diam's in 1999on compilation hip-hopea, then started a collaboration in 2001 on the album Brute of a woman, until 2008. In the company of Jo Le Balafré, also a producer, they met Sinik for whom they produced 2 albums, just like for the group Sniper. Hichem Bonnefoi is very important in the story of Fatal Bazooka, but also in that of Eleven Commandmentssince he was the first to produce it, and it was he who had the idea for the film released in 2003. During the 2010s, he joined his friend Cyril Hanouna to become a DJ on his cult show Don't touch my post! where he spent a season in the role of a bumbling and clumsy DJ. He continued his career as a producer, signing titles for artists such as Fianso, Shy'm and Vald.
#6 Jurij Prette
The last of the gang Eleven Commandments. Jurij Prette is a screenwriter, who worked on The Manor in 2016, Long live France in 2013, and especially Fatal in 2009.
#7 Dieudonné
There is no need to return to Dieudonné's flourishing career as a comedian, nor to his escapades and controversies which surround him. RecentlyDieudonné is under the spotlight of justice for “concealment of fraud” after having rented the castle of Piré-Chancé, in Llle-et-Vilaine, for a show, without announcing, on February 25, 2023. The Rennes Court of Appeal requested six months in prison against him, and orders him to pay the sum of 8,000 euros.
#8 Patrick Timsit
In the 11 Commandments, he plays Toto then Fifou, Dieudonné's sidekick, who has a series of unfunny humorous projects. French actor, director, comedian and screenwriter, Patrick Timsit has a career as long as an armand played for and with the greatest French humorists (under the direction of Gérard Jugnot, in An Indian in the Citywith Alain Chabat, or José Garcia). Recently, the one who can also be found on the stage confided that he was saved by Gérard Jugnot in his early days, when he was starting out in the theater: “I didn't see myself rowing and then I was lucky enough to meet hands that pulled my head out of the water when I was going to drown, when I was really going to give up.” As for his career as a comedian, he decided to put an end to it in December 2020. “This time, we are saying goodbye to the one-man show once and for all.”
And to go further in French humor cinema, find out what the characters look like Brice de Nice Today.
