- Playing
- MICMACS director Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- From
- Andrea Chase
Jean-Pierre Jeunet had been thinking about the plot of MICMACS since making THE CIT OF LOST CHILDREN in 1995. Arms dealers who justify being merchants of death is rich fodder, and the juxtapostion of people who are passionate about the excellence of their work who can also disassociate themselves from the end result of that work became idea he couldn't shake. He also couldn's shake the need to make a film in which those people are given their comeuppance by one of their victims. In the interview, he discusses the proper use of CGI, casting a contortionist who can also act, bucking the aesthetics of French critics to follow his own vision, and rethinking his film, without compromising his vision, when his original leading man became unavailable.
Also in the Behind the Scenes series
STORIES WE TELL -- Sarah Polley Interview
(08:48)
From: Andrea Chase
Sarah Polley talks relative truth, the privilege being quiet, and narrative as a tonic for bewilderment.
SIMON KILLER -- Antonio Campos Interview
(21:18)
From: Andrea Chase
Antonio Campos talks religious prostitutes, music as plot point, and the choreography of life.
THE PINK PANTHER -- Robert Wagner & Robert Osborne Interview
(16:13)
From: Andrea Chase
Robert Osborne and Robert Wagner talk improvisation,Charlie Chaplin, and the evolution of screen size.
ROOM 237 -- Rodney Ascher Phone Interview
(08:19)
From: Andrea Chase
Rodney Ascher talks creeping terror, subliminal messages, and the tropes of long-form storytelling.
UPSTREAM COLOR -- SHANE CARRUTH Interview.
(20:39)
From: Andrea Chase
Shane Carruth talks the illusion of free will, the synchronicity of Thoreau, and his almost collaboration with Rian Johnson on LOOPER.
DISCONNECT -- Max Theriot Interview
(13:42)
From: Andrea Chase
Max Theriot talks breathing right, staying gold, and giving it his all.
TRANCE -- Danny Boyle Phone Interview
(12:00)
From: Andrea Chase
Danny Boyle talks meeting royalty, seducing the audience, and training Rosario Dawson’s voice.
REALITY -- Matteo Garrone Phone Interview
(11:33)
From: Andrea Chase
Matteo Garrone talks materialism, capitalism, and why he cast someone serving a life sentence as his star.
GIMME THE LOOT -- Adam Leon Interview
(14:44)
From: Andrea Chase
Adam Leon talks anxiety attacks, passing the smell test, and taking what New York threw at him.
ON THE ROAD -- Walter Salles Interview
(14:56)
From: Andrea Chase
Walter Salles talks searching for freedom, finding the story behind the book, and bicycling with Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
Jean-Pierre Jeunet had been thinking about the plot of MICMACS since making THE CIT OF LOST CHILDREN in 1995. Arms dealers who justify being merchants of death is rich fodder, and the juxtapostion of people who are passionate about the excellence of their work who can also disassociate themselves from the end result of that work became idea he couldn't shake. He also couldn's shake the need to make a film in which those people are given their comeuppance by one of their victims. In the interview, he discusses the proper use of CGI, casting a contortionist who can also act, bucking the aesthetics of French critics to follow his own vision, and rethinking his film, without compromising his vision, when his original leading man became unavailable.
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Andrea Chase goes Behind the Scenes with Jean-Pierre Jeunet about MICMACS, his dark yet whimsical tale of arms dealers and Bazil, a victim of their industry who takes revenge into his own hands. Dany Boon stars as Bazil, a former video store clerk orphaned by a land mine and wounded with bullet lodged precariously in his brain when he went from innocent bystander to unintended victim. Bazil goes from plaything of fate to forger of his own destiny when a series of more fortuitous coincidences allows him to join forces with an eccentric but highly skilled group of social outcasts, and with them to concoct a complicated but elegant plan to get even, not just for his own issues, but for the good of the world as a whole. Jeunet’s previous films include DELICATESSEN, CITY OF LOST CHILDREN, AMALIE, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT, and, on this side of the Atlantic, ALIEN RESURRECTION. He is the recipient of numerous awards, and MICAMACS was the opening night film of the 2010 San Francisco International Film Festival.
OUTRO:Andrea Chase has taken you BEHIND THE SCENES of MICMACS with the filmmaker, Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
