Death on the track with Jason Priestley: we were on the set of the film about the 24 hours of Le Mans

A few weeks ago, Jason Priestley, the unforgettable interpreter of Brandon Walsh in the cult 1990s series Beverly Hills, was in France to shoot Death on the Trail, a police TV movie for France 3 with Eléonore Bernheim (L’Art crime) and Olivier Marchal (The Promise).

The story ? A few days before the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the body of a driver is discovered on the track during the first practice sessions of the race. Captain Sabrina Nedjard (Eléonore Bernheim), supported by Ryan Martin (Jason Priestley), a police officer straight from Los Angeles, is then in charge of the investigation.

If their investigations promise to bring them into the paddocks and workshops of a well-known amateur family team at Le Mans, it also turns out that Ryan Martin is a former 24 Hours of Le Mans driver who does not come back by chance…

Filmed between April 14 and May 14, 2023, Allociné had the chance to go on the set of this thriller like no other.

A POLICE INVESTIGATION AGAINST A LEGENDARY RACE

The year 2023 is a big year for the world of motorsport since the 24 hours of Le Mans, the biggest endurance event in the world, celebrates its 100th anniversary.

While motor sports have already inspired many internationally renowned films such as Le Mans and Le Mans 66, Jean-Baptiste Neyrac, the producer of Mort sur la piste, has set himself a major challenge.

At the origin of this project, we find Didier Neyrac, one of the screenwriters of the film and brother of the producer. A cameraman for France Télévisions for many years, the latter covered the 24 Hours of Le Mans for 25 years, as Jean-Baptiste Neyrac told us.

“My brother had the idea of ​​a synopsis in which an American actor played a cop who came back to France. Starting from this idea, we discussed with France Télévisions to set up a project around the 24 hours of Le Mans.“As the centenary of this mythical race took place this year, Jean-Baptiste Neyrac felt that”there was real logic in that.“

At the same time, we had to convince the Association Club de l’Ouest, creator and organizer of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, to be able to shoot on part of this illustrious circuit. “We explained to them that a thriller in the world of the 24 Hours of Le Mans could attract between 5 and 6 million viewers. Thanks to this argument, it worked“explains this passionate producer. Indeed, the film crews were able to shoot for two days on this mythical circuit.

After obtaining the agreement of the ACO and France Télévisions, Jean-Baptiste Neyrac then chose Matthieu Savignac (Meutres à Chantilly) to take over his brother’s original synopsis and write the screenplay for the film.

JASON PRIESTLEY, A FORMER RACING DRIVER

In this film, Jason Priestley plays Ryan Martin, a former American racing driver turned police officer. From the start, Jean-Baptiste Neyrac wanted an Anglo-Saxon to lend his features to this character. For him, “It was out of the question to have a Frenchman who was going to speak with an accent.“.

So he worked with an English caster to find a comedian who had “an important notoriety“and who is at the same time”economically accessible“. Of a list of 15 actors, whose names we could not obtain, Jason Priestley was in “top of the list“.

A choice not really trivial since the actor shares an important point in common with Ryan Martin. If he has obviously never been a police officer, Jason Priestley has on the other hand been a professional pilot until a serious accident on a Kentucky circuit in 2002 keeps him away from this sport.

When the decision was made to retain him, Jean-Baptiste Neyrac was “flabbergasted by the quick response“. Indeed, Jason Priestley gave his answer only 48 hours after receiving the script for the film.

It must be said that the 24 hours of Le Mans attract across the Atlantic. Jean-Baptiste Neyrac also reminds us that Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Patrick Dempsey and Michael Fassbender “all came to Le Mans because there is a mythical and fantasized side which is super important.“

On Jason Priestley’s side, it was therefore a real pleasure to make this film, but also “a real challenge to play in another language.“The 53-year-old actor will therefore juggle between English and French in this thriller. There will be a little game between the two languages ​​in which the character played by Jason Priestley will try to make himself understood by throwing out a few sentences in French. everything, most of the time, it will be above all the character of Eléonore Bernheim who will play the translator.

The goal? That the film is not subtitled. Indeed, Jean-Baptiste Neyrac wanted to be “in the authenticity of a character who comes to France and who speaks with his accent. It’s a big challenge but the game is worth it.“.

ELEONORE BERNHEIM, FAN OF HER PLAYING PARTNER

During our meeting with part of the film crew, the complicity and good understanding between Jason Priestley and Eléonore Bernheim were obvious. Moreover, the heroine of Death on the track, still cannot believe having had the chance to play with one of the idols of her adolescence.

“I was watching Beverly Hills with my friends. When I missed an episode, I recorded it on my VCR (laughs)” she confided to us before specifying, “I agreed to play in this film long before I knew that Jason would be in it. I really wanted to work with Philippe Dajoux (the director of the film editor’s note). When he told me that Jason was going to be in the movie, I went “wow!“. If at 14 I had been told that I would play with him one day, I would never have believed it. It was impossible.“.

And she may have shared four weeks of filming with him, Eléonore Bernheim still does not realize it. “Once a day, I say to myself for a second or two “Damn, I’m playing with him!“. Then to conclude on a humorous note, “it will be difficult for Nicholas Gobmy partner in the art of crime, for the sequel (laughs)”.

While the 24 hours of Le Mans will take place on June 10 and 11, the film Mort sur la piste should be broadcast on France 3 by the end of the year.