The barriers between television and cinema have melted so much that no one should be surprised. vincent cassell And eva greenTwo of the most international French stars cross paths for the first time in a TV series: “Contact” (Apple TV+, starting Friday the 24th) is a luxury espionage thriller that turns into a complex love story. Cassel represents the prime suspect in some of the cyberattacks that have taken control of London. Green is the private secretary of the British Foreign Secretary and a former weakness of the future hacker.
What drew you to ‘Liaison’ in the first place?
On the one hand, it was the first time that Apple had invested so much money in a European production. I was very proud to be needed for this adventure. Second, I would finally be able to work with Eva Green.
Did the experience meet your expectations?
I can even say that they surpassed them. I was also lucky that Green signed on while we were preparing for it. [la película] ‘The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan’ we shot right after. This is my Eva Green year. The truth is, we get along very well. And curiously, I feel close to him as an actor. She is very involved, but at the same time, she doesn’t take herself too seriously. Life is more important to him than being on set.
In an interview a few years ago, he explained that the most interesting thing about humans is the paradox: “The fact that we have to do one thing and pretend it’s something else.” Among the characters in a spy story, this paradox comes by default. Maybe that’s why this series appealed to you too?
Completely. What I wanted with this character was to create a pretty normal guy and be as French as possible. So it’s not based on bullying, brawn, fighting, or showing your alpha qualities. He just wants to do his job and be reliable. And if you have to look like a loser for that, that’s fine.
‘Liaison’ is a very European thriller in the sense that it’s hard to tell who’s the good guy and who’s the bad guy. Looking back on his career, I can say that he was more interested in this type of thriller and action projects: projects that deal with uncertainty.
That’s it. That’s what life is all about. Who is the good guy and who is the bad guy? If you look at situations under the microscope, and this applies to the international political map, it is often not so clear. Normally, when someone is mentioned as a villain in a story, there is a much more complex truth behind it.
Did you know about the previous work by its creator, Virginie Brac? Were you one of the many French viewers of the series ‘Espiral’, of which you were the screenwriter?
I was one of them, just like everyone else. This series was a huge success in France. When I learned that he was going to write the entire series, I knew right away that this would be a quality project.
Here he was put under the command of Stephen Hopkins, a senior action director. [autor de ‘Depredador 2’ o ‘Los demonios de la noche’]. I don’t know if he grew up watching his movies. Or maybe it was just a fan of ’24’, which Hopkins visually described. How was your relationship with this filmmaker?
I really liked ’24, but I also met Stephen a few years ago in Cannes. directed the remake [‘Bajo sospecha’] It’s from a French movie called ‘Preventive arrest’. The new release featured Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman, along with my ex, Monica Bellucci. I remember having a great time with him during the festival. I was very happy when they told me that he was being considered as a director, not only because I liked him, but also because I knew he would have the ability to tell the story in very visual terms.
We don’t usually see him act on television, but it’s also not clear whether ‘Liaison’ is on television, in part because of Hopkins’ audacious decisions as a director. There are spectacular moments of bravado, such as the aerial shot between the buildings that open the series.
The idea was to make a series that looked like a movie in a way. It had to have a cinematographic dimension. Today you can not limit yourself to telling a story, but you should look for additional tools to glue the audience to the screen. The plane you mentioned is really beautiful.
Normally, when someone is mentioned as a villain in a story, there is a much more complex truth behind it.
How come I didn’t participate in more dramas?
They especially attract me now because times are changing. I’m not sure the current show is television. What is television? I feel like I’m not watching TV anymore. The stories I’ve seen are told on the screen. And if you look at the money spent on such products… This new series is much more expensive than many of my French films.
‘Liaison’ is Apple’s first series in French (and English). One of the best things that the globalization of the stream provides is the opportunity to listen to the actors/characters speaking in their own language. Or others: you speak up to four languages in the series.
Streaming gets people used to watching movies in other languages. You connect to Netflix and you can watch movies from Africa, Spain… ‘La casa de papel’ is an amazing series and it’s totally Spanish. I watched them all in Spanish. Such a thing was impossible just ten years ago.
What will happen next for you? I think he will return to the world of David Cronenberg in ‘The Shrouds’.
I will, but first I have to finish shooting a film in France with Argentine director Pablo Agüero about Saint-Exupéry and Guillaumet in the early days of aviation.