The text of the play The idiots’ dinnera success which subsequently produced a very popular film, was republished on Wednesday with annotations by actor Jacques Villeret. Fayard editions reproduce in large format the pages on which the actor underlines his lines in the role of François Pignon, accompanied by photos of the play. Remaining on the bill at the Théâtre des Variétés in Paris for more than two years, from September 1993, it was adapted for the cinema in 1998.
Caesar and audience record
Jacques Villeret immediately accepted the role proposed by the author of this text, Francis Veber. The other main role, that of Pierre Brochant, the man who invites François Pignon to the “cons dinner”, went to Claude Brasseur. As his son Alexandre Villeret recounts in the preface, the actor “started to blacken the pages” (around 250 double-sided) immediately after his first reading.
He added indications as to his movements on stage, the tone or the emotions of his character (“doubtful”, “a time of distrust”, “embarrassment”). “You were talking about 99% work, 1% talent,” writes Alexandre Villeret, who remembers his father’s daily exercises for “his only obsession: not losing his voice!”
At the cinema, The idiots’ dinner reached 9.2 million entries. It earned Jacques Villeret the 1999 César for best actor and TF1 the best television audience of 2001, beating the September 11 news or Loft Story.
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