Bertrand Blier: this famous comedian that the director did not carry in his heart, “A first-rate bastard”

Bertrand Blier confided in in the columns of Paris Match in 2010. The director returned to a particular shoot, with a famous comedian whom he did not understand eacute;ciait pas specialement.

© Bestimage Bertrand Blier died this Tuesday January 21 at the age 85 years old. Famous director, he worked with many comedians.

The death of Bertrand Blier was announced this Tuesday, January 21, at the age of 85. An emblematic director, he leaves behind him films that have become legendary.Over the years, he has rubbed shoulders with many artists who have left their mark on him positively… but also negatively. In the columns of Paris Match in 2010, he confided in this subject, returning to the filming that was the most difficult for him. “Without a doubt “My man”, à because of the subject”, he began before adding: “And then, filming his ­own wife in, let's say, very hard shots, çthat was painful. Anouk and I knew that before we started”.

If the sequences with his wife at the time were not obvious, that is not the only reason. Bertrand Blier also specifies that he collaborated with Coluche on the filming of La femme de mon pote. For him, this one was particularly complicated. “ He was a great guy, but a first-rate bastard, he said. But what happened? ? During the broadcast of a special Bertrand Blier evening in June 2016, many revelations concerning this filming were made. These concerned the fact that Coluche had been particularly complicated to live with on a daily basis. 

Coluche: a comedian with inappropriate behavior ?

The film, released in 1983, was not unanimously acclaimed. It was later that it met with great success and, for some, the artistic failure was due to the poor chemistry between the actors. Indeed, Coluche is said to have refused to enter the director's very particular universe. He is said not to have wanted to follow Bertrand Blier's instructions, particularly regarding the text, the breathing and the intonations. Which caused a bad atmosphere on the set since the director spent months on this text. 

During this filming, Coluche also tried to modify certain words in order to use his own phrasing, with which he is comfortable. Bertrand Blier would not have accepted these changes and the atmosphere would have become icy between the two men. While his actor did not want to respect the text that had been given to him, the director would not have hesitated to make him understand it.  “Coluche was not particularly pleasant, ¸it clashed&eacute between them, it was super tense, over bullshit, without interest, confided Thierry Lhermitte.

Bertrand Blier: a director who didn't let himself be pushed around

Bertrand Blier was passionate about his work and it was essential for him that everything went well. In the columns of Paris Match, he notably returned to his friendship with Gérard Depardieu, from whom he subsequently distanced himself. “At first, it was for Depardieu. When I write a film, it's always for him. Now a little less because I changed my skin. But for a very long time, he was my alter ego” he confessed. But what happened between the two men ? “Our paths have diverged a little. He, he rather likes agricultural things, vines. Not me”, continued the director.