Distribution in 190 countries, a budget worthy of a film, a dream cast with two legends of the discipline, fight choreography provided by a UFC fighter: “La Cage”, the first Netflix series on MMA from the French director Franck Gastambide, arrives today on the famous platform. Filming secrets.
Its authorized version is still in its infancy in our country. But what a long way we have already come… A little less than four years after legalizing MMA in competition, France is taking another step forward in the democratization of this sport which has become a popular phenomenon by being at the origin of the first Netflix series dedicated to the discipline , The Cagesigned by director-actor Franck Gastambide and released this Friday, November 8 on the famous platform. “It’s one of the last countries to have legalized the sport, I don’t know if we realize the parallel,” points out Taylor Lapilus, UFC fighter and TV consultant who plays himself in the series. “It’s surreal.”
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Not the first series dedicated to MMA, which was American production Kingdombut clearly the first with such ambition and such an impact, distributed in 190 countries and benefiting from a budget of “well over 10 million euros” (Gastambide) and a dream casting for MMA lovers . Helped in the writing by Antoine Simon, commentator on UFC evenings for RMC Sport and French MMA bible, Franck Gastambide offers a scenario where an amateur fighter played by Melvin Boomer will see his life change due to a rivalry with a professional fighter played by Bosh, who was already one of the main characters of his series Valid around the rap scene.
The cream of French fighters on screen
“I tried with this series to make the hero touching and to show the general public to what extent being an MMA champion is an extraordinary life journey,” explains the director of Pattaya et Taxi 5 (among others). To embrace his desire for realism, Franck Gastambide brought together the cream of French fighters on screen, from Ciryl Gane to Salahdine Parnasse via Morgan Charrière, Abdoul Abdouraguimov and Anissa Meksen, and two absolute international legends placed very high in the discussions on the GOAT (the greatest of all time): the American Jon Jones and the Quebecer Georges Saint-Pierre. Obviously less comfortable than in the cage, the first took his mission very seriously.
“I am approaching the end of my sporting career and I really want to get a foot in the cinema so this role was perfect for me”, explains Jon Jones at the microphone of RMC Sport.
And to continue: “I was petrified before the project began. I left my comfort zone. Franck gave me freedom so that I could reappropriate the texts.”
“The dangerous Jon Jones was the perfect actor I dreamed of, who had worked, who had learned his lines and who wanted to do well,” relates the director. Who insisted on exporting his filming to Quebec for “GSP”: “I wanted to film at his place, where there is his statue, because I wanted people who don't know this sport to realize that these guys are superheroes”.
Gastambide also had to face a complicated challenge: making MMA fights realistic. A task for which he was able to benefit from valuable help. “The fans of this sport were not going to forgive me if I screwed up the fight scenes,” believes the director. “Taylor Lapilus was essential for the entire choreography part of the fights. He is the one who signed them. There was an important desire for me: to show that the blows were going to hit, to show the reality of the violence of this sport.”
All that remained was for Melvin Boomer, who was 200% involved in this mission: “I had three training sessions a day. You can't lie about the fight, it's too precise. It requires rigor of work huge. Until we practice it, we can't realize it. I wanted to bring real credibility. I don't want to disappoint the people I represent, in this case the fighters.”
“There was one day that I particularly remember, when Melvin clearly couldn't take it anymore,” says Lapilus. “He said, 'Guys, please call the understudy!' But we told him we couldn't: 'You're the one who has to do it, you're the actor but you're also the fighter on this one!' (…) Clearly, sometimes he was marbled.” Faced with a very protective environment, Franck Gastambide did not play an easy game. But he was able to get through it for a realistic result. To discover today in The Cage. For a new step forward on the MMA road towards the popular summits.
