The Côte Fleurie, he knows a little. In 1998, Dominique Pinon shot there Like a fish out of water with Monica Bellucci and Tchéky Karyo. In recent years, he has participated in the Off-Courts film festival as a jury or sponsor, but also for readings, in particular during the Summer Theater & Reading Meetings in Normandy. It was on August 8, 2023 in Houlgate (Calvados) and on August 11, the Cures marines welcomed him for a reading on the 30e novel by Amélie Nothomb, First Blood (Ed. Albin Michel), crowned in 2021 with the Prix Renaudot.
Do you prepare yourself when you do a reading?
Not really. I read the book before, of course; it is also a very pleasant text to read. I like discovering works; of a person I don’t know, a book I haven’t read. This is an opportunity to discover an author, to discover a book. But I don’t have any special preparation. A book is a book. I simply try to share this pleasure of reading with the audience. With First Blood, I think there will be no difficulties: the public will be captivated by this autobiographical story. Amélie Nothomb talks about her family and her father in particular. In particular, she recounts an episode which was very important for her father: his hostage-taking in Africa, which he survived. Anyway, when the reading (less than an hour) is over, I’ll stay a bit to enjoy the evening, chat with those who want. I’m not going to leave right away!
What kind of exercise does reading represent for you?
It’s something I love to do. There is no stress of knowing the text, since you are reading it. I love being able to share the pleasure of reading with an audience. It is by the way by the reading that I had the taste of the comedy and the theater. When I was little, I had a grandmother whom I only knew when she was bedridden; she was sick. When I was young, I learned to read very quickly. So I often went to read to him, at the foot of his bed. I still have that memory. I was also always first in recitation at school! My teacher always said to my mother: “Ah, he sets the tone! »
What are you working on at the moment?
I just came back from the Avignon Festival. I played a play there, The color of memories, created especially for the festival, on site. We had a lot of success: full house all the time! It was really a very nice moment. This success prompted us to organize new performances in Paris, but also on tour, all over France.