Dimitri Rassam is the guest of Clique. The French producer behind “The Three Musketeers” and “The Count of Monte Cristo” talks about his passion for cinema, his prestigious family and his next projects.
“The Count of Monte Cristo”, French record of the year
His name may not mean anything to you, but Dimitri Rassam is behind some of the biggest theatrical releases of recent years. Among its twenty-five projects, there is the franchise of “Three Musketeers” et “Le Comte de Monte Cristo”. With 9.3 million admissions, the latter is the second French film at the 2024 box office.I think what touched the public with Monte-Cristo it is respect for the original work. It's a film that makes you feel like you've lived through a fresco.”
When Dimitri Rassam talks about his role as producer, he compares it to that of book publisher: “My job is to bring projects into existence. We support talents, subjects and we serve a master who is the film.”It is a work of sensitivity, which combines creativity and logistics. If some of the most renowned producers in the world are French, the French relationship with the 7th French art is not always kind: “French cinema has long been considered a defect for its audience, but there is a pact that has been renewed, a virtuous circle of innovative and sincere proposals.”
A family of filmmakers, from “Apocalypse Now” to the next Ladj Ly
Dimitri Rassam has been immersed in cinema all his life. His family includes other major film producers. His cousin, Thomas Langmann, is none other than the producer of “The Artist” by Michel Hazanavicius and winner of an Oscar for best film in 2011. For his part, his uncle Paul Rassam participated in the production of the legendary “Apocalypse Now” by Francis Ford Coppola.
Son of producer Jean-Pierre Rassam and actress Carole Bouquet, Dimitri Rassam says he is proud to belong to this family. “I am clear about the help I received. I am part of a story and it is my role to honor it.” It is in this spirit that he names his production company, “Chapter 2”, in homage to the first generation of producers in his family. Although Dimitri Rassam did not know his father, who died when he was three years old, he nevertheless remains very attached to his heritage: “It touches me that people still talk to me about it forty years later.”
Always inspired by the stories of Alexandre Dumas, Dimitri Rassam now plans to dedicate a film to the life of the author's father, Thomas Alexandre Dumas. The first black general in the French Army, he left his mark on History. With Ladj Ly directing, filming of “Dumas: The Black Devil” will begin in 2025.
The interview with Dimitri Rassam is available in replay on myCANAL.
