UNITED KINGDOM: FOOTBALLER ERIC CANTONA MAKES A GUEST APPEARANCE IN THE FRENCH FILM 'LE BONHEUR EST DANS LE PRE'

Record ID: 386860

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: FOOTBALLER ERIC CANTONA MAKES A GUEST APPEARANCE IN THE FRENCH FILM 'LE BONHEUR EST DANS LE PRE'
  • Date: 22nd November 1996
  • Summary: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (NOVEMBER 22, 1996) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) CHATILIEZ (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) SAYING WHEN THE IDEA OF ERIC CANTONA CAME OUT AND HE WAS FREE AND HE SAID OK I LOVE THE SCRIPT, MAYBE I WON'T BE ABLE TO DO IT, MAYBE I'M NOT AN ACTOR, BUT LET ME TRY IF I CAN DO IT, AND TRY SOME SCREEN TESTS. IF YOU TELL ME I CAN DO IT I WILL, IF NOT I WON'T. ACTUALLY, HE WAS BE
  • Embargoed: 7th December 1996 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM/ FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA7DL907D8A7IK9C6JLZD98POR8
  • Story Text: Footballer Eric Cantona is a natural on the big screen, director Etienne Chatiliez declared but warned "don't make too much of it - it was a small role." The Manchester United scorer plays Lionel, a rugby-playing romeo who has made a farm girl pregnant in the gentle French comedy "Le Bonheur est dans le Pre" (Happiness is in the field). His brother Joel accompanies him in another cameo role.

    The charismatic footballer has already excelled in the field of poetry and managed to flumox British media last year with odd philosophical comments after his ban from football for kicking a heckler in January 1995.

    Le Bonheur -- Chatiliez's third film -- has already become a major box-office hit in France. A former director of commercials, he established his reputation with "Life is a Long Quiet River" (La Vie est un Long Fleuve Tranquille) and followed with the success of "Tatie Danielle".

    The title refers to Chatiliez's philosophy that "happiness is never far away...it could be a glass of wine, a person you meet, a little something".

    The story revolves around toilet seat manufacturer Francis (Michel Serrault) who -- saddled with a failing business and uncaring wife Nicole (Sabine Azema) -- sees a way out of his humdrum existence on a TV programme where a beautiful woman (Carmen Maura) and her daughters appeal to find their long lost husband/father.

    His photo is the spitting image of a younger Francis. Egged on by best friend Gerard (Eddy Michel), Francis joins his surrogate family and an idyllic new life on a picturesque farm, only for the truth of his "past" to slowly catch up with him.

    Hesitant at first about mixing sport and cinema, Chatiliez promised to warn Cantona if he wasn't any good. But after a screen test, the gallic footballer convinced his director he could act.

    "He was better than anyone," Chatiliez told Reuters Television.

    Azema described working with Eric and Joel as a delightful experience. "Of the two Cantona brothers, Eric was more intimidated at entering an environment he didn't know," she said.

    With a preference for comedy, Chatiliez says he will only make another film if a project really appeals to him. And it must be funny. "Humour can tell you a lot," he explained. "There are many films which are serious and heavy going, and also very stupid." Azema attributed the success of the film so far to a particular vein of French humour. "There is a side (of France) which enjoys joking about sex and love, she said.

    Le Bonheur opens in Britain on November 29 after a successful box-office showing elsewhere in Europe.
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