With “En place”, Jean-Pascal Zadi signs off on wacky comedy with a political satire accent
After an altercation was seen on camera with a candidate for the presidential election, Stéphane Blé was convinced to also run in the race for the Élysée. Irregular and crazy, this environmental animator’s campaign is nevertheless carried by a dynamic that will start to terrify his opponents… After his feature film only black (co-directed with John Wax) in which he won the César for best male wish, candidate for power Jean-Pascal Zadi has surrounded himself with a cast of options for this wacky comedy accented with political satire: Éric Judor as the manipulator campaign director, Marina Foïs as the eco-friendly candidate, Benoît Poelvoorde as the “black baron” or even Fary as the dealer’s cousin.
Six years after the first season of the self-produced web seriesCraignos (available on France.tv), the actor, screenwriter, and director prides himself on courting the prestigious Netflix with his new project. “I never thought of that, he admitted, laughing. But I think that’s really the point. from Onsite: I come from a popular background, poor and black, I often hear myself say: “You can’t go to the club tonight” or “This job is not for you…” But here, it’s just the opposite: I imagine a character trying to broaden your horizons and dream bigger, or at least be bold. That’s what I did with Craignos six years ago. »
Jean-Pascal Zadi recognizes the parallels between his character as a candidate suddenly thrust into the spotlight and his own journey after success only black and more than 760,000 cinema receipts: “There are parallels with my life. Someone who is looking for something big, once he has it, is he the same as when he started or has he changed? What will he have to sacrifice to get there? » However, the actor did not give up on his faith, according to his reaction when he himself was approached by the political sphere: “Europe Écologie-Les Verts invited me to take part in their summer university, but I will never go there in my life! Even though I wanted great things to be done for the planet, I said to myself: “You only represent yourself, but not me at all!” »
Lack of interest in “professional politicians”
When he decided to have his voter card and put his ballot in the ballot box during the last presidential election, the 42-year-old actor admits he lacks interest in “professional politicians”: “For me, the real politics are people like Stéphane Blé, people who are educators, who belong to associations, who do something every day, who are very socially anchored. » However, Zadi and his co-screenwriter, François Uzan, double down on references to current events in France, starting with an ecofeminist candidate named Corinne Douanier, the humorous pastiche Sandrine Rousseau: “Because the story is a little crazy, so that it can be true, it was important to me that the setting is concrete and the different currents are nearly all represented. »
From À la Maison-Blanche to Baron Noir via Spin City, there have been series on politics, but they haven’t won the votes of Jean-Pascal Zadi, who says he’s not finished yet. House of cardsthat he found “too dark and a bit gross”. Influence, he prefers to claim on the side of satirical programming: “Such programs Baby Show Where info horn, who makes fun of the world of politics, it’s very French. I realized that I was the guy from the local bistro who said: “Politicians are all rotten! », joked the jolly.
Smashing humor that he hopes will apply to a possible second season fromIn place, which is suggested by the last episode of the premiere. But the multi-hat artist’s schedule is packed: after filming with Quentin Dupieux (Smoking makes you cough), he is currently preparing his second feature film as a director as well as an animated film. And lest early fans despair: the third and final season Craignos always considered.
