The most diverse family of French cinema hits Spanish theaters this August 18th. ‘My God, what have you done to us?’ here is the third chapter of the ‘My God’ saga, one of the most successful in French industry. Having become the highest grossing nationally produced film of 2022 in France, Verneuils are ready to conquer Spanish audiences once again. “We never imagined making a trilogy. Everything was possible thanks to the support of the public”declares Philippe de Chauveron, director of the film and main architect of the franchise.
With € 17 million raised at the French box office and having attracted more than 2.4 million viewers, “My God, what have you done to us?” goes a step further by introducing the Verneuil in-laws into the saga. Taking advantage of the 40th wedding anniversary embodied by Christian Clavier and Chantal Lauby, their daughters and genders take the opportunity to bring the whole family together as a whole and this includes bringing David’s parents Rachid, Chao and Charles. If the Verneuils have already had to deal with the Koffis, now they will also have to deal with the Benichou, Benassem and Ling.
“After making the first delivery, we never thought we would make two more deliveries. Without a doubt, this was possible thanks to the success and also the support of the public, which prompted us to sign a trilogy Obviously, what we had very clear in each of the sequels is that we weren’t going to make sequels at all, but we had to first have an idea of what we wanted to tell. “, the director shares an interview for eCartelera as part of the France is on Screen event, organized by Unifrance in collaboration with the French Institute of Madridwhich took place from 9 to 12 June, with the aim of increasing public participation in French-made audiovisual productions.
A shooting marked by the COVID-19 pandemic
“In the second film, the story was that the genres wanted to leave France and the relationship between Charles’s sister and his girlfriend. In this episode, we wanted to address the issue of in-laws, other in-laws laws, to follow the theme of first but, at the same time, be a new proposal with different plots “adds Chauveron, who confesses it, though In the interview released to eCartelera in December 2019, in full promotion of ‘My God, what have we done to you … now?’, He had already revealed his intention to make a third episode with his in-lawsthe idea didn’t materialize until a year later.
“I admit I forgot, but maybe it stayed in the subconscious, because when it came to plot the third part, it came out immediately. Also, having had the premise of the in-laws, everything came together, because the ideas quickly came to capture in the script, as well as what each of the married couples and gender fathers would look like. It was almost spontaneous, which made it easy for us to start preparing production as soon as possible, but the coronavirus pandemic hit and we had to rethink the program. “the director exposes.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused delays in the start of the filming of this third part, the main consequence of which was the departure of Julia Piaton, who was replaced by Alice David in the role of Odile. “She had to come back, but the delay due to the covid made the shooting coincide with another more urgent work commitment for her to complete, which forced us to have to replace her. It was a disappointment, because both we and she wanted work together again, but well … coronarivus things “he pointed.
“No positive made us stop the recordings”
For Chauveron, the shooting was another adventure, as there were several lockdowns in France, but, with the exception of the first, subsequent home isolations allowed the directors to go out to shoot whether cinema, television series or advertising campaigns, which caused the tapes of ‘My God, what did you do to it?’ they were in a practically empty Paris. “Everything was closed, there was confinement, but we were allowed to work, so we could shoot in a strange reality”details.
The director shows the curious anecdote he was born with the so-called covid reference, which is responsible for ensuring compliance with the strict protocols to avoid contagion on the setcurious because it was the same referent who ended up infected. “This figure made sure that we all wore masks, that there was a safe distance, that contact was essential, that we used hydroalcoholic gel. The curious thing is that the covid guard contracted the virus and it lasted a week, they had to raise it right away. The paradoxes of life “comments the director between a laugh.
The director points this out though “There were antigen and PCR tests every week, as well as a lot of surveillance” it was inevitable “there would be some other weekly case”. However, this did not prevent the continuation of filming. “Fortunately, no one forced us to stop production”, the director calmly states.
Projects designed exclusively for rooms
Chauveron is aware of the severe crisis that the film industry is going through both globally and regionally. While it is true that the situation of the sector in France is better than in other European markets such as Italy or Spain (where attendances decreased by 75% and 60% respectively compared to 2019), in both the situation is considered critical. , this does not mean that attendances in the Gallic country’s theaters have decreased by 55% compared to 2019 (last pre-covid year) and that the CNC (National Center for Cinema and the Animated Image) raised the alarm on the risk for the seventh art financing system in France, of which the platforms are not really part.
“The problem is not so much the platforms. What’s more these are now starting to suffer, Netflix is losing subscribers. The problem is the competition that the series have in the cinema. What matters is that the great creators continue to make feature films for the big screen, because then the best films will be in theaters”argues Chauveron, who stresses that famous directors should be encouraged to direct projects designed exclusively for theaters. “Actually, the platforms in the movies don’t compete with the cinema, because the proposals for streaming are not as good as those destined for the big screen, at least this is the case in France. Hence, the series are the ones that make us more competitive. You have to bring good movies to theaters. Then it is true that there is an audience that has no intention of returning to theaters and will stay at home, nothing can be done there “To add.
“It is important to make good comedies”
In that aspect, Chauveron claims the power of comedy as a collective experience and how it is capable of making audiences return to cinema. “In times of pandemic, comedies are once again the ones that are bringing audiences back to cinemas. Of course, not all of them succeed, only those that have managed to find the sympathy of the public”To explain. “The important thing is to make good comedies, there is nothing sadder than a comedy is not funny. Going to the movies and leaving disappointed brings audiences back to platforms. You have to be responsible and make good films so that they reach theaters and encourage the public to go there. With comedies it’s even more complicated, because you never know how the audience will react after the premiere “He adds.
“Comedy is best appreciated in the cinema”ditch. Although this third installment has done very well at the box office, Chauveron has no plans to go into a fourth part. “Never say never, but, a priori, we only considered staying in the third installment. Ideas come out, even a suggestion on a fourth divorce proposal. The problem is that divorces are usually not that fun.”concludes.
Directed by Philippe de Chauveron, who signs the screenplay together with Guy Laurent. Produced by Roman Rojtman, “My God, what have you done to us?” In the cast Christian Clavier, Chantal Lauby, Ary Abittan, Alice David, Medi Sadoun, Frédérique Bel, Frédéric Chau, Émilie Caen, Noom Diawara, Élodie Fontan, Pascal Nzonzi, Tatiana Rojo, Salimata Kamate, Daniel Russo, Nanou García, Abbes Zahmani, Farida Ouchani, Bing Yin, Li Heling, Loïc Legendre, Jochen Hägele, Marie-Hélène Lentini, Arnaud Henriet and Jean-Luc Porraz. A UGC, Orange Studio, Les Films du 24 and TF1 Films production. Available in theaters this August 18th, by A Contracorriente Films.
Source: E Cartelera
