INTERVIEW – The Iron Lady is highlighted in the first episode of the TF1 event series where the heroines commit their first theft. Producer Benjamin Dupont-Jubien reveals the many filming constraints to us.
This Monday, November 11, almost a year after the start of filming, TF1 is finally launching Cat’s Eyes . The event series adapted from the Japanese cartoon from the 1980s tells the story of the beginnings of art thieves Tamara (Camille Lou), Sylia (Constancé Labbé) and Alexia Chamade (Claire Romain). A long-term project for the two producers Mehdi Sabbar and Benjamin Dupont-Jubien. “It took us five years to have the rightsthe latter tells us. The Japanese are very concerned about respecting their brands. Before any discussions, we provided them with an 80-page document explaining what we wanted to do with Cat’s Eyes. We had a lot of meetings during which we had to gain their trust”adds the producer, rather proud that the mangaka Tsukasa Hôjô was seduced by their project.
During the various discussions with the Japanese, the two French producers highlighted the possibility of filming in Paris and more particularly in emblematic locations such as the Tour Eiffel the Louvre Museum, the Mint Hall and the Château de Versailles. “It was part of the promise”says Benjamin Dupont-Jubien. The producer agreed to reveal to us behind the scenes and the constraints of filming in the Iron Lady highlighted in the first episode.
TV MAGAZINE. – How do you use the Eiffel Tower for filming?
Benjamin DUPONT- JUBIEN. – Before telling the Japanese that we were going to film in the Eiffel Tower, we approached the operating company to ensure that our request was feasible. We received a very favorable reception, which reassured us. The Eiffel Tower is a monument used for filming but usually only the first floor is rented. We wanted to explore the building from the cellar to the attic, in fact, we are the first to do so.
What was the first constraint of filming at the Eiffel Tower?
The Eiffel Tower is open to the public 365 days a year so we were only able to film at night. We could only take possession of the premises between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., which meant bringing in all the technical teams, actors and extras during this ultimately limited period of time.
However, that left you eight hours to shoot…
You should know that there are several elevators at the Eiffel Tower but at night there is only one freight elevator available. When we worked on the 1st floor, it took an hour to transport everyone and all the equipment. When we were filming on the top floor, filming didn't start until 2:30 a.m. until everything was transported. We also had to plan the return trip because we had to have everything cleared by 7 o'clock.
How did you organize yourself in this case?
We set up a military organization for the five nights of filming. The director had completed fifteen days of 8 hours of scouting work in advance. Each member of the team had a number and knew when to enter the elevator so as not to create traffic jams. You should also know that at night, the elevator is used by technicians who maintain the Tower. There were times when we had to wait for the elevator to become available because there were guys carrying tool boxes.
STEPHANIE BRANCHU / BIG BAND STORY / TF1.
Some shots in the series are impressive, like the one where Tamara Chamade climbs the Eiffel Tower…
We had requested special authorizations to be able to have Camille Lou climb along the Eiffel Tower and install a cablecam, a camera on a cable which is connected to two points. To achieve these two points, it was necessary to make deportations and we therefore requested special authorizations. When touching a national monument, it must be validated by the Bâtiments de France, it must be approved by engineers. Two days before the shoot, we weren't sure if we had the necessary stamps to be able to shoot.
What about security?
Lifelines had to be installed everywhere. To secure the actors and all the technicians who followed behind, we called on a team of stuntmen. Usually, as the Eiffel Tower is narrow, directors just place their cameras and capture the images that way. Alexandre Laurent wanted to have a moving staging including on the stairs and on the beams which made the filming challenging but very complicated because it required putting lifelines in all directions to be able to keep the teams safe and the actors.
What other special requests did you have for filming at the Eiffel Tower?
At night, when you are on the Eiffel Tower, what is pretty is the view of Paris. But from a certain time, all the monuments go out. So we asked for permission from the Paris town hall to be able to let these monuments light up on the nights we were filming at the Eiffel Tower. We did the same thing when we filmed at the Mint.
How did you manage the lighting and sparkle of the Eiffel Tower which also turn off at midnight?
We simply had access to the control box to turn it on manually. But what we didn't know was that once you manually turned the flicker on and off, you had to wait 20 minutes before you could turn it back on. For some technical reason that I still haven't understood, it doesn't turn on like a lamp. What this meant was that once we had taken our shot and turned it off so we could put it back on, we had to wait 20 minutes. We might as well tell you that losing 20 minutes of the time we had was limited to us, we couldn't miss it.
Filming at the Eiffel Tower necessarily has a cost…
Yes it is expensive to rent the Eiffel Tower but what is expensive is everything that is around it. We paid more for logistics, technical installations and security than for renting the building.
