A project that could never have seen the light of day. After offering an immersion in the world of Johnny Hallyday during an exhibition, Laeticia Hallyday announced the preparation of a feature film about her late husband. “A film worthy of the rocker and the man I loved madly, sometimes painfully, for twenty-three years”revealed the mother of Jade and Joy in an interview with Paris Match, published this Monday, June 24. Before making a subtle attack on his former companion Jalil Lespert, who is also making a film on the idol of young people: “The official biopic, yes, you can present it that way.”
Before starting this new adventure, the one who is the guardian of the memory of Taulier took the time to exchange with different producers. But throughout the negotiations, Laeticia Hallyday was not convinced. “Something didn’t add up, the exchanges were complicated”, she explained to our colleagues. And to add: “I felt like I was betraying Johnny by embarking on projects that seemed to me to lack a bit of madness, of rock’n’roll.” However, a meeting put an end to his doubts. When she met Raphaël Quenard, who will play Sylvie Vartan’s ex-husband, Laeticia Hallyday was ready to get started. “The project, the desire… Everything starts from there, from him”reveals the one who discovered the actor in the film Yannick by Quentin Dupieux. And to explain: “I was amazed by his performance, his looks, his way of occupying space, of speaking, his spontaneity, his almost animal charisma… I said to myself that if any actor could play Johnny in the cinema, it was him.”. An obvious fact which marks the starting point of this highly anticipated biopic.
>> PHOTOS – Laeticia Hallyday: her love story with Johnny
Biopic on Johnny Hallyday: Raphaël Quenard was ready to do anything to land the role
The biopic being no longer a secret to anyone, Anne-Élisabeth Lemoine could not help but question Raphaël Quenard on the subject during her appearance on the show C to youbroadcast on Monday June 24 on France 5. “You will play Johnny Hallyday in a biopic, which will be scheduled for December 2027, signed Cedric Jimenez“, recalled Patrick Cohen’s accomplice. Before specifying: “A choice validated by Laeticia Hallyday who wanted to meet you. The opportunity to see that you had the same stature as Johnny, within five centimeters. And you wanted this role so much that you asked him to saw your shins.”
To which his guest responded with humor: “To do the job and actually fit into the costume”, he joked. The actor, who we recently saw in The Second Act of Quentin Dupieux, explained why this role was very important: “For my mother, it means so much. She went to the stadiums to see him perform. And for me, it is the paroxysm of artistic purity and an unfiltered relationship between an artist and his audience. What he embodies , it’s titanic”observed Raphaël Quenard, who has not yet started filming.
Photo credits: Marc Ausset Lacroix / Bestimage