France 2 launches on Monday season 3 of the series "Les rivières pourpres", inspired by the novel by Jean Christophe Grangé, adapted in 2000 for the cinema in a film with Jean Reno.
The author of the novel tells in "It feels good" how his novel became a bestseller adapted for the big and the small screen.
The success of Les
Rivières pourpres
continues, more than 22 years after the release of Jean-Christophe Grangé's novel.
France 2 begins Monday the broadcast of the third season inspired by the thriller, already adapted to the cinema.
A series created by Jean-Christophe Grangé himself, who ensures that the spirit of his writings endures.
Guest of
It feels good
, the novelist recounts the literary, cinematographic and serial success of this story, published after the flop of a first novel.
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"Overnight, I became a star"
Because, in 1994, the novelist wrote
The flight of the storks
, a first thriller which does not find its public.
“There is a confusion between the title and the cover which were little birds at sunset. It looked like it was some kind of romantic soap,” he recalls.
"There was a misunderstanding, and neither thriller fans nor soap fans bought me."
Four years later, Jean-Christophe Grangé published
Les rivières pourpres
and his publisher decided to put the means to promote this second novel.
"I must admit that I saw a live marketing operation unfold that really worked," explains the author.
"My publisher put me in the collection of Mary Higgins Clark, which at the time was the Anglo-Saxon thriller label, presenting me as the Frenchman who writes in this genre as well as the Anglo-Saxons."
And the publisher's bet is successful.
"It created curiosity", comments Jean-Christophe Grangé.
"Overnight, I became a star."
"Nobody understood anything about the film"
Jean-Christophe Grangé then remembers having sold "about 500,000 copies" of
Rivières pourpres
.
Sales boosted again in 2000 by the release of the adaptation of the novel on the big screen, with Jean Reno headlining.
“At that point, I sold almost as many books because no one understood anything about the film,” he smiles.
"It was complicated, there were ellipses… In short, there was a big boost in bookstores."
But the success of the adaptation of Jean-Christophe Grangé's second novel also had positive consequences for his first book.
“At the same time, Albin Michel brought out
The Flight of the Storks
, written by a guy who was now known,” explains the author.
"And there I sold as much as
The Purple Rivers
."
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The unexpected portrait of… Jean-Christophe Grangé
In 2004, the film
The Purple Rivers 2: Angels of the Apocalypse was
released on the big screen.
Le vol des cigognes
was also adapted for a telefilm by Canal + in 2013, 19 years after its failed release in bookstores.
Five years later Jean-Christophe Grangé adapts
Les rivières pourpres
as a series for France 2. The channel broadcasts the start of the third season of this series Monday evening at 9pm.