INTERVIEW
With confinement, Gérard Oury's comedies broadcast in the afternoon by France Télévisions produce audience boxes. 5.2 million viewers gathered in front of La Grande Vadrouille on March 22. There were still 4 million watching Le Corniaud on April 26. France 3 will also broadcast an issue of Un jour, une destin dedicated to the filmmaker on May 8 . Guest of Culture Media on Wednesday , the program by Philippe Vandel on Europe, Danièle Thompson, the daughter of Gérard Oury, but also the screenwriter of several of his films, returned to the wings of one of the most famous collaborations between the filmmaker and Louis de Funès: The Adventures of Rabbi Jacob.
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The international context almost delayed the release of the film
Two weeks before Rabbi Jacob's theatrical release on October 6, 1973, the Egyptian and Syrian armies attacked Israel, it was the start of the "Yom Kippur War". The tensions around this conflict almost prompted the teams to postpone the release of a film largely devoted to the Jewish community.
"It was a completely maddening moment," recalls Danièle Thompson. "Already when we are very nervous when we release a film, it is a moment of excitement and stage fright. But this war, at the time when we put up the posters in Paris, with the figure of the Rabbi, c was a blow that we really hadn't thought of. " The promotion of the film is already widely launched, the calendar will however be maintained.
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Before this film, Louis de Funès knew practically nothing about Jewish culture
To help Louis de Funès prepare for his role as Victor Pivert, an anti-Semitic industrialist forced to pass himself off as a rabbi, Gérard Oury pushed him to take an interest in Jewish culture, in particular by frequenting the Hasidic community. The director thus took him to a synagogue to attend the Shabbat. "I had good anti ideas. There must be more left. But as I said to Gérard Oury, it made my soul feel worse!" Admitted the actor in an interview after the shooting .
Most of the extras representing Jews were actually Muslims
For the purposes of the film, rue des Rosiers, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, one of the emblematic places of the Jewish community, has been reconstructed in old Saint-Denis, at the gates of the capital. However, most of the extras who wander there belong to another community. "The vast majority of the extras who are on this crowded street were people from the neighborhood, therefore more Muslim than Jewish," recalls, amused, Danièle Thompson.
Danièle Thompson works on a female remake of the film… The adventures of Rabbi Jacqueline
It was the designer Jul, author in particular of the last adventures of Lucky Luke, who had the idea in 2016 of a version of the film centered on a female character. But for the moment, nothing has yet filtered from the scenario of this Rabbi Jacqueline , who was initially expected for Christmas 2018. "We are working on it. We are still at the writing stage", admits Danièle Thompson, still at the microphone from Europe 1. "I hope with all my heart that it will be done. It is not a question of remaking Rabbi Jacob , it will be another film, at another time. We could not remake Rabbi Jacob today . "