"We turn the page ... It will be better for everyone. This reply, made by Sylvain (played by Léo Guillaume) in the last episode broadcast on March 14, was one of the ultimate in "Un si grand soleil". And it sums up perfectly the state of mind of the team of the soap of France 2 which finds this June 1 the way of the studios, after two and a half months of stop.
Because despite 25 episodes in stock, France Télévisions favored information during confinement and extended its news by 20 hours. But this Monday, the series launched in August 2018 is a double blow with resumption of manufacturing and return of unpublished episodes on the air at 8.45 p.m. Far from his previous habits. The team, reduced to the maximum, will have only one cameraman instead of two, with gel, masks and barrier gestures everywhere. Strict compliance with these new sanitary standards, stipulated in a written agreement with the chain, requires extending the number of shooting days by 20%.
Screening offered to team members
The actors will dress alone and will be separated from the make-up by a plexiglass window. For three weeks, two specialists in virology have received one by one all the members of "Un si grand soleil" to make them aware of the rules and offer them a Covid-19 test. None were affected by the virus. "Our number 1 mission is to preserve everyone's health," insists producer Toma de Matteis. Because a single contaminated actor could endanger everything… This is also why no employee of the Parisian headquarters of France Televisions will go to the set in Montpellier (Hérault).
Second wish: "Make a series that looks like it was before," notes Toma de Matteis. Clearly, despite the imposing sanitary constraints, viewers see it as a fire on the screen.
But how to kiss, touch each other, stage muscular arrests or crowd movements, when each has to stand one meter from the other? "We are supposed to be very romantic," recalls Sophie Gigon, director of daytime drama at France Televisions. A delicate equation but facilitated by the techniques of realization, in particular the use of focal length to give the impression that the actors are very close. And invest in spaced locations, like a wood, privatized for filming this Monday.
The plot will refer to the virus
Side script, the pool of 25 authors had to review the writing. New scenes shot this week will integrate the episodes already ready. "The planned plot, quite dramatic, with a police story, is postponed for another lighter one that will stick better to the summer period," adds Sophie Gigon. And will refer to the coronavirus. "Our obsession was not to tell about confinement, but the characters must anchor themselves in a world that resembles our own," says Toma de Matteis. Some could suffer the painful consequences of the epidemic, especially social.
On the menu for the next few days: after a summary of the previous episodes at the opening, make way for the descent into hell of Virgil, one of the heroes, interpreted by Fred Bianconi, and his quest for truth after the death of his daughter Léa, in the fire from an escape game. But also the emerging love story between Quentin (Nicolas Breuil) and the sparkling Davia (Jennifer Dubourg-Bracconi). Because without romance, the sun shines much less.
“Tomorrow belongs to us” on June 15 on TF1, “Plus belle la vie” in July on France 2
"Plus belle la vie" has reopened its Belle de Mai shelves in Marseille since May 26. "The actors are happy and respectful of the rules they take very seriously", welcomes Sophie Gigon, who plans to return to France 3 in July. Of Covid, it will of course be question in the scenario. But rather to tell about the “next world”, in which certain characters could get bogged down in financial difficulties.
On the TF1 side, the Sète actors of "Tomorrow belongs to us" have also been on deck for two weeks. Is Chloé Delcourt (Ingrid Chauvin) expecting a girl or a boy? What secrets does the deputy headmaster of Sète high school, Antoine Myriel (Frédéric Diefenthal) still hide? Response from Monday June 15, and now at 7:10 p.m. instead of 7:20 p.m. The future intrigue will be centered around the character of the young nurse Amanda (Marion Christmann), victim of a predator.
An expected return for the front page: the replacement programs (“Seven to Eight, the daily”, “Who wants to earn millions?”) Achieve almost half the audience in this very strategic competitive intersection of the early evening where Nagui performs with "Don't forget the lyrics" on France 2.