“Lupine”, “Hulk” யார் Who is the most sensible Louis Letter of French directors?

Puzzle: We have never seen his portrait, he gives some interviews, leads a successful career in Hollywood, to the extent that his Wikipedia page has long pointed out, he is the highest grossing French director of all time. But never go to big parties where there are stars, don’t want to play cake dads with his three kids or go to the beach with them. His first name is L …

Luke Besson? Lost. Correct Answer: 47-year-old Louis Letterier, a different life in the world of French cinema. Only one example: during the first three episodes of the recently worldwide hit “Lupine” series from Netflix, he filmed in French for the first time in his life. Before that it was always in English, for the first two international hits like “Transporter”, “The Incredible Hulk” or “Elliptical”.

7th Art, Louis Letterier always bathed in it. His father, Franுவாois Letterier, who died last December, made jokes such as “I’m going to explode” (1980) or “Les Babas Cool” (1981). Her mother, Catherine, was a costume designer and hairdresser who won an Oscar in 2004. She is also the sister of ன் Laurent Fabius.

Small, he meets the biggest stars on the sets

With his two sisters, Louis Letterier had a happy childhood. “I grew up in sets. We lived in Rwanda, Tahiti, and my parents spent our summer filming. I grew up in our kitchen with some famous actors making pasta, Sofia Loren, Lauren Bagel, and it was something very natural to me. I met Isabel Adjani and Gerard Departio ”

So, is it logical that the boy also starts in cinema? Not so easy. “I was hesitant between a florist, an architect, a musician … At one point, I wanted to create toys and amusement parks. Now you see my life, I’re done the whole thing! I’m an architect, I create amusement parks, toys. Well, flowers, I do not know ”

“It doesn’t mean I don’t want to be like Mom and Dad,” the artist repeats, “But I thought it would be too complicated to make the cinema that spoke to me more entertaining and better, more American and English. . I watched movies made by my parents and they never talked to me. “His father gives him no advice:‘ Do what you want, but not as an actor. “

As a teenager, Louis became involved in music: “I was on the cover group like the Beatles, on a funk group, and then on the hard rock drummer. In New York, I met a DJ. You really have to have the sacred fire to be a musician. I never wanted to be in front, a stage beast. In the 2000s, he directed videos for Opal Winter or Enhancer. Today, he is friends with two former Daft Punk and is closely watching the soundtracks of his films. “I want to create cinematic music with rock or electro musicians, I want to come up with something else, like I did with massive attack. Danny the Dog. »

Besan puts his foot on the strip on the “transporter”

But Louis Letterier’s real interest is in cinema. “I have been making short films since I was 8 years old. “At a very young age, he did summer jobs in film collections. “I even played with Gerard Jugnot Always scout… (1985). “He continued his studies in cinema in New York, with teachers such as Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee or Oliver Stone.

He attended the launch of Studio Eurocorp, founded by Luke Besson, with whom he formed a friendship that will last forever. “I learned everything from him. He is someone who loves cinema, his teams, he is an incredible director. From time to time, friendly, fun, but to learn, I come to work on the second team, or I come to help. I did it for Luke on some projects Lucy. »

Unexpectedly, Luke Besson steps on the stripper in the 2002 film “Transporter”, which will star actor Jason Statham. “I was the second assistant, the scheduled director Corey Yuen was late. He was tired after his previous filming, I made the film for him. We passed the stick, I felt, but he was the one who directed the fight dances, and Carrier It is very popular. It was truly an exceptional experience. I was totally not scared because it was a group I knew well. Cory did not come to the amendment. I did it, took care of the music, and finally said to myself: Oh, that’s it, I’m a director. “

Franுவாois Berland, the actor in “Transporter,” still remembers these beginnings. “This is his first film, he’s 25 or 26, he’s really a kid! He’s very attentive, very calm. He’s humble, he’s the most respectable man in the world. I’m seen it again recently, and it’s still the same.” Berland sees another quality in him. : “He’s a director of actors, it’s very rare.” At the time, he was very well acquainted with him. When Luke Besson came to film a few scenes on the last day, the actor refused: “I told him: I signed with Louis Letter.”

“Hulk” begins his career in Hollywood

After “Danny the Dog” with Jet Li (2005) and “Transporter 2” (2005), Letter attempts a Hollywood adventure. With a few fears: “American cinema is a bit complicated, the oppression of men. Transporter2 I worked well in the US, so I got a lot of calls from Los Angeles. There he rents a house there and then meets those in charge of a small company, Marvel. “All of their superheroes had a big poster. I was told to choose the character I wanted. He chooses Iron Man and hands over the sequel … to the “Hulk”.

“In the offices, there was John Pauro, where he worked Iron man ; Edgar Wright, Sur Ant man ; And, i Hulk. Very quickly, all together, we said to each other: It would be even better if there was some kind of similarity as in the press. Strange, Superheroes can move from one movie to another. So he shoots a scene in which the Hulk pack breaks the ice of the ice, revealing the shield of Captain America.

Similarly, the creation of Avengers is mentioned at the end of the film. However, the letter does not mention the birth of this coherent universe, the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) in which all the characters in the studio are evolving. “I was there at first, but it won. Then, we did not think Marvel would be what it is today. Strangely, he will no longer work for the company.” I’ve been running for many films, but it’s complicated, you have to plan well in advance. It is difficult to get out of the computer and get back into it. “

But his American career began. With two major hits, “Clash of the Titans” in 2010 and “Elliptical” in 2013. A failure, “Crimsby: Agent to Special”, in 2016. He tries his hand in the series, Tycoon ”, in 2017, especially“ Dark Crystal ”(2019),“ the most beautiful thing I’ve ever done in my life, ”he says. This earned him an Emmy (Oscar of the Series), which is the best project for young people. To align harsh reviews, rarely preserved, severely damaged by journalists for many years (including “Parisian”). “My parents were very good at cutting reviews, and sending the wrong ones to the US always made me laugh,” he says.

Clearly, you need to get up early to shake up Louis Letter. “He’s a good guy,” says editor-in-chief Vincent Tabilon. He might have picked up the big head, but it wasn’t like that. He is very, very demanding, but always available, which is why people want to work with him. In the package Conflict of heroes, There is a group of 200 people, and when he arrived, he knew everyone’s name. “

“He has a sense of scene”

“He has a strong and simple connection with the cast,” says Ludwig Sagnier, who was filmed in “Lupine.” “Professionally, he’s a pretty impressive person because you think he’s learned his skills in large – scale projects. He’s a visual sense.”

A quality he never fails to develop further, seems to have kept his bags in France for months, “Lupine” Season 2 will be formalized soon: “If I were free, I would be happy to participate … I’m had very good friends with Omar Xi, anything Will not spoil. ”Now that we have found each other, we will not give up! We are lucky with each other. “

The two will meet again in the sequel to the film “On the Other Side of the Round” at Laurent Loft’s company. The product is well advanced. Temporary title: “Of course guys”. In his boxes, a sequel to the Netflix movie “Pride” with Will Smith, but a low-budget film, an exercise he never got involved with! “I have rightsAlex, A thriller by Pierre Lemitre, an exceptional book. I try to keep it for a long time … “He said he was ready to play male-bands in it:” I’m the frame, I ride, I take care of the music. I love it! “

Bio Express

June 17, 1973. Born in Paris.

1991. Begins film studies in New York.

2002. He co-directed his first film “Transporter”.

2005. He has only directed his first film “Danny the Dog”.

2008. Marvel directed the film “The Incredible Hulk”.

2010. “Clash of the Titans” was the biggest success of his career, grossing nearly $ 500 million worldwide.

2019. Netflix has directed the “Dark Crystal” series for the film.

2021. For Netflix, Lupine is responsible for the first three episodes of the series.