Revealed to the general public by Les Bronzés and on stage with his friends from the Splendid troupe, Michel Blanc, who died tragically on the night of October 3 to 4 at the age of 72, has not always known only good people. moments with the troupe. He even left it in 1980, after filming Les Bronzés sont du ski. Here’s what happened.
The year is 1978. Following the success of Les Bronzés, the Splendid is forced to write a sequel that they don’t really want. Teasing, the members of the troupe then decide to sign a comedy which is closer to collective delirium: an excursion to the mountains in survival mode, inspired by the crash of flight 571 Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya (which will notably inspire The Circle of Snows on Netflix ). Cannibalism, sex with a bear, the film goes very far!
The others took it as if I were playing it personally
The very Monty Python humor of their proposal was rejected outright by their producer at the time, Yves Rousset-Rouard, who asked for a much lighter tone, in the spirit of the first film, and the team had to start again from zero.
If Jugnot, Clavier, Lhermitte and Chazel accept the decision, the rejection of their initial vision leads Josiane Balasko and Michel Blanc to withdraw from the writing team. Their departure strains the situation, and Michel Blanc will experience it during the filming of Les Bronzés sont du ski, under the direction of Patrice Leconte, as he confided to Alexandre Raveleau in Michel Blanc – On a misunderstanding.”
“From the moment I was not a co-author, I felt that I did not have to discuss with my comrades the way of performing my text, but with the director since I was only becoming a simple performing. And the others took it as if I were playing it personally..
A choice that particularly displeases Thierry Lhermitte: “There was a relatively bad atmosphere between us. Thierry and I even got into a fight once. He was very cold, but there was no anger. We made the film despite everything until the end.”
The struggle to impose your ideas
Moreover, once the film is finished, the troupe starts writing again, a play this time, entitled Santa Claus is Rubbish. And it is during these sessions that Michel Blanc understands that what he wants is not in line with what the rest of the team wants: “There was something distended. (…) When we started writing Santa Claus, I realized that it was going to be a struggle to impose his ideas.”
Michel Blanc therefore reconnected with Patrice Leconte, with whom he had exchanged a lot during Les Bronzés sont du ski and made three films in three years with the director: Come to my house, I live with a friend (1981), My wife is called Come Back (1982) and Circulate is nothing to see! (1983). He then moved on to directing himself with Marche à l’ombre (1984). If he is present in the following Splendid films, it is in a cameo (a voice on the telephone in Santa Claus) or in a small role (Grandpa joins the Resistance).
He collaborated twice in the theater with his friend Josiane Balasko, who also left for Santa Claus, refusing the role of Thérèse. They will play together the plays Bunny’s Bar and Nuit d’ivresse, the role played by Blanc on the stage will be played in the cinema by… Thierry Lhermitte!
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