Discover the manufacturing secrets of scenarios for Asterix, Lucky Luke, Iznogoud or Petit Nicolas... For the first time, an exhibition in Angoulême is devoted to the screenwriting work of René Goscinny, a profession he “coming out of the shadows”.

The exhibition “René Goscinny screenwriter, what a job!

“, which opens this Tuesday at the comic strip museum, presents some 200 new or rare pieces, coming in particular from the archives of the René Goscinny Institute and the BNF (National Library of France).

These plates, letters or manuscripts illustrate the very rigorous methods of the famous screenwriter, indicates Jean-Pierre Mercier, curator of the exhibition with Romain Brethes.

"For each album, Goscinny discussed with its designer, Uderzo, Morris or Sempé, in order to compare their ideas, around a beer or by exchange of letters", explains the curator of the exhibition, "he then got down to his typewriter and wrote down the course of the story.

A paragraph equals a page.

His working method

As proof, the copy of the plate from the first page of Asterix the Gaul – “the original plate has disappeared, no one knows where it is”, says Jean-Pierre Mercier.

Alongside, working notes, “we can see the scenario thought out by Goscinny.

On the left of the sheet, there is the description of what the designer should draw and on the right, the commentary text and dialogues”.

Thus, as a commentary, Goscinny typed the phrase "Leaders such as Vercingetorix must lay down their arms at Caesar's feet", then the "Oop" of pain from the Roman leader who receives his arms on his feet.

“If you look, that's what you find on the board,” says Jean-Pierre Mercier.

“He read a lot of books on Roman history”

“In twenty-two years in the business, Goscinny has done absolutely phenomenal work.

He wrote 450 comic scripts, that's thousands and thousands of pages,” exclaims Jean-Pierre Mercier.

And for these scenarios, he documented himself.

“For Lucky Luke, he read the biographies of Billy the Kid, Jesse James, etc.

And he was absolutely mad about movies.

He never missed a single western on TV.

He also said that his real inspiration was Laurel and Hardy.

»

For Asterix, beyond the famous pink pages of Latin quotations from the

Larousse

dictionary , “he read a lot of books on Roman history”.

His dictionary and some of his history books are on display.

The journey recounts his beginnings as a cartoonist, his time in New York, his various collaborations up to his position as editor-in-chief of the comic book weekly

Pilote

.

The exhibition is presented until March 17 and then will go, from April, to the Château de Malbrouck in Manderen (Moselle).

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  • Exposure

  • Asterix

  • Museum

  • comics

  • Culture

  • Angouleme

  • Goscinny

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