“I am still very close to Loana”

April 26, 2001: France discovers reality TV. Inspired by the Dutch show “Big Brother”, “Loft Story” arrives on M6, bringing together 11 single people locked in a house for 70 days, filmed 24 hours a day. At the origin of this television big bang? Alexia-Laroche Joubert, an ambitious young producer that actress Anaïde Rozam plays today under the name of Isabelle in Worship, the series by Matthieu Rumani and Nicolas Slomka which looks back on the creation of this television event. Meeting with two charismatic women.

Madame Figaro .- How was Anaïde Rozam the perfect actress to play you, Alexia Laroche-Joubert?
Alexia Laroche-Joubert. – I don’t know if Anaïde knows this, but while I was watching her essays, my companion walked behind and said: “It’s crazy, she has the same energy as you!” That’s how I told myself it was her, it was obvious, she had the same ball of energy as mine. But watching her perform in the series, I didn’t tell myself that I was watching myself. It’s peculiar to judge someone who is supposed to play you. I found that she was extremely accurate in her emotions, in the way she interacted, in her energy… But I didn’t see myself.
Anaïde Rozam. – I did everything to look like him! I even went to the casting with the same hairstyle as her at the time! From the moment I knew I would be testing for WorshipI started listening to Alexia’s voice on repeat, I watched all her interviews…

Anaïde had this same ball of energy as mine

Alexia Laroche-Joubert

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How did your meeting go? Alexia, did you give Anaïde any advice on how to play yourself?
ALJ- We had tea at my place and I think I said to Anaïde: “Observe and take.”
A. R. – The confidence that Alexia had in me really helped me and rubbed off on me, because obviously it’s a little intimidating to play someone who exists, who you have in front of you and who, in plus, produced the series. It scared me slightly but Alexia never said to me: “You’re playing me like that” or “I’m giving you this advice”… She just said to me: “Come on, let’s tell each other about our lives.” So it was a human encounter and I took what she gave me. I left her house telling myself that she trusted me.
ALJ- I had no doubt that she could do it. The reality is that I had seen her play in Magnificat (2023), a cinema film that I had co-produced, and I knew that Anaïde had an extremely important acting range. So I was very calm.

What unites you two?
A. R. – When I read the script, I immediately told myself that I wanted to play the role of Alexia. He’s a very rich character, with many facets, and playing him gave me a lot of strength. I had this determination in me but the acting profession can sometimes make us doubt with the refusals of castings… Alexia has this kind of “Fake It Till You Make It», (fake it until you make it, in French), meaning she believes in things so much that she will do anything to make the people around her follow her. Beyond the physical resemblance and the way he speaks, I also did sports work. The idea was not to get closer to Alexia’s body shape but she is a character, a woman who is so toned, who finishes her sentences – unlike me – that I needed to be aware of my body to avoid a nonchalant attitude by saying very direct sentences.

What was your reaction when you discovered Worship ?
ALJ- Being a co-producer of the series, I discovered it at several stages. I followed the writing (sometimes telling the authors to strengthen this or that character), I went to the set, and I saw the rushes. What was very satisfying was the pace that was set. Everything goes very quickly, it is successful in the nervousness with punchlines… The authors thought of it as a thriller with tension, that is to say that even if we know that Loana will win in the end, we do not know what happened behind the scenes, we do not doesn’t know the rivalries, the betrayals, the rage of the characters, the need to succeed… These are stories ofoutsiders with the knife between his teeth. I find it very interesting to show this, it’s really the first office drama In France. This didn’t exist before and I, who like to be at the origin of genres, if I can be one in fiction, I can’t tell you how proud I am!

Even if we know that Loana will win in the end, we don’t know what happened behind the scenes, we don’t know the rivalries, the betrayals, the rage of the characters, the need to succeed

Alexia Laroche-Joubert

What do you remember from this period?
ALJ- The “Loft” is still my career. Without this show, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today and it was the beginning of what I loved doing most in my job: meeting people. Through the casting of candidates for “La Ferme Célébrités” (a show for which I even cast the animals!), but also those for “Koh Lanta”… I have always loved meeting anonymous people. I was very happy, on “Star Academy”, to find myself in the company of Stevie Wonder or Madonna but it’s not them who moved me. Real people have a form of fragility because we ask them to tell us about their lives when no one, usually, dwells on them. Suddenly, all the barriers fall, and you have a purity in your relationships that always moves me.

Have you kept in touch with the loft owners?
ALJ-I am still very close to Loana. She has not seen the series but has seen the essays of Marie Colomb (the actress who plays Loana in WorshipEditor’s note) and to be honest with you, I’ve been trying to contact her for a week and she hasn’t called me back. It annoys me but that’s how Loana is.

Fanta Kaba

Anaïde, you were 4 years old when “Loft” arrived on our screens. What is your opinion on this show?
A. R. – When I discovered the script, I had an idea of ​​reality TV which was a bit like today’s with stereotypical characters. I was completely unaware of the purity and authenticity of the candidates at that time. And producers too because this show was new to everyone. I watched a lot of the “Loft” archives and was surprised to see that there were a lot of sweet moments. When we see programs like “Les Marseillais”, we hear a lot of arguments, it’s shouting in all directions… Whereas in the “Loft”, we observed very calm moments around the swimming pool or the table, where the lofters discussed everything and nothing. They represented a panel of young people from very different backgrounds with the handsome guy, the bourgeoisie, the intellectual… They talked about their future, questioned themselves about what they were going to do when they left the Loft, about their lives in love… And all this in a very pure and naive way whereas today we feel the thing is a little more scripted, it has become a profession.

ALJ- There was a real cult of boredom and that’s what I liked because in boredom, a lot of things happen. When we are parents, we spend our time telling our children that it is important to be bored because that is where they will trigger creativity, imagination… In the “Loft”, the Time passed gently, nothing was aggressive, they argued little and only slept once… Well no, twice, I think.

A. R. – That’s a scoop! (laughs)

ALJ- It’s funny because “Big Brother” is relaunching in England and they have taken up this purity, there are no mechanics. The candidates have very different opinions and they discuss a whole bunch of very interesting subjects.

I was not at all aware of the purity and authenticity of the candidates at the time of “Loft”

Anaïde Rozam

Could you relaunch a “Loft” today?
ALJ- Yes, I even think it’s time. Don’t see it as an announcement but I think we are ready to reconnect with this plan. I’ve always been afraid of anything that’s too produced so I think it would be good if we came up with something quite pure. But won’t the broadcasters be afraid of that…?

Anaïde, what did you like best about your role?
A. R. – I loved playing with my body, it really helped me as an actress because it was the first time that it was as much an “actor” as my head. I feel like I took a big step with this role, because I’m a pretty cerebral person. When I started in cinema, I watched myself act a lot, I asked myself a lot of questions about the character while trying to put a subtext…. The thing with the character of Isabelle is that she doesn’t ask herself 30,000 questions, she goes for it, and so I had to go for it too. I am currently filming and I feel that I am now aware of my body, it makes me feel good because my whole being participates in the work of an actress.

Worshipcreated by Matthieu Rumani and Nicolas Slomka, with Anaïde Rozam, Marie Colomb, César Domboy, Sami Outalbali… Currently on Prime Video