VIDEO. Cinema: take a look behind the scenes of Olivier Marchal’s filming in Toulouse
Since November, the shooting of Olivier Marchal’s new feature film, “Overdose” began in Marseille, continues in the Occitanie region, before moving to Spain and the Paris region. For a few days, the most famous former cop-actor-director in France put his cameras down in town …
Since November, the shooting of Olivier Marchal’s new feature film, “Overdose” began in Marseille, continues in the Occitanie region, before moving to Spain and the Paris region. For a few days, the most famous former cop-actor-director in France put his cameras down in town …
What have you been doing since yesterday in Toulouse ?!
I am currently shooting my new feature film, “Overdose”, which is produced by the Amazon and Gaumont platform. The film is based on the novel “Mortels Trafics” by Pierre Pouchairet, which received the Quai des Orfèvres prize in 2017, and which I renamed in a more punchy way, “Overdose”. It is the story of a double homicide which takes place in Paris and the criminal brigade which investigates will be brought to one with the cops of Toulouse on a “go fast” in which one of the members is involved in the homicide. In fact, two investigations collide and two police services will have to work together. This time, no rogue cops but undercover cops. It’s a bit different from the ones I made before, we’re on the death investigation!
And the shooting seems intense …
Yes and I’m exhausted because we only did the car, only action scenes, gunshots. But we ate our black bread because in Toulouse we have just started the scenes where we ask ourselves a little, we are supposed to be in the premises of the PJ so we shoot the somewhat intimate scenes, even the interrogation scenes. if there’s one that’s a little bit violent, a bit agitated. It was hard because we had a terrible time with two grim days. We had a stunt scene with a Porsche exploding so we will normally do it again next Saturday in Carcassonne but the weather forecast is not good. So we will come back but it’s complicated because we then shoot in Seville in Spain and we end up in Paris.
What does the cast have in store for us?
Pretty female roles including that of Sofia Essaïdi but also that, frosty, of Catherine Allégret who plays a septuagenarian and she is super happy to shoot with us. And then my daughter Zoe also plays, I gave her a small role so I’m very happy and very proud. There is also Nicolas Cazalé, Assaad Bouab, Alberto Ammann who plays the leader of the Colombian cartel Pacho Herrera in “Narcos: Mexico”, Kool Shen, Simon Abkarian, Nassim Si Ahmed who is a great actor and Kenza Fortas who played in “Bac Nord “. There is also Philippe Corti who plays a thug from Toulouse and many others …
So in Toulouse, the shooting will last several days and in which places?
We shoot in the hyper center, we will even shoot a fight at Bibent! I was looking for a fairly luxury brasserie for a scene with the Toulouse thug who is armored so we needed something that throws, the Bibent was essential! We shoot everything inside, in fact, because the Christmas market is set up. We are also in a very beautiful Toulouse house, the house of a crooked lawyer with hiding places outside. We are not bad in Toulouse, for two weeks and unfortunately for my liver in fact because I am invited everywhere to eat and drink well! But I cannot answer all the invitations, I get up every day at 4 a.m., I come home at 9 p.m. and I have to prepare for the next day …
Your previous film “Bronx” had a good score on the Netflix platform, “Overdose” is it a more important step for you?
It’s true and I’m very happy, “Bronx” was a hit, but this one goes further with these pretty female roles, the theme of diversity and the presence of young actors. Afterwards, all the shootings are important but it is true that it is a big budget of 12 million euros for Amazon, it is a real entry ticket on this platform but the pitfalls are not lacking, starting with the grim weather that does not help us. But there will be a lot of good surprises in the end!
What the film says
Pierre Pouchairet’s book forms the basis of the screenplay concocted by Olivier Marchal. The services of the Toulouse Stups and the Paris Crim ‘collaborate across borders to solve a murder and put an end to cannabis trafficking fueled by “go fast” between Spain and France. It is Sara (Sofia Essaïdi), head of the narcotics brigade of the Toulouse police force who is investigating this “go fast” within her former lover Raynal, is infiltrated. A race against time begins of which Olivier Marchal undoubtedly has the science and the secret… to believe that he was a cop one day!