Andréa Ferréol, 75, looks back on the set of Marco Ferreri’s film, Feast (1973), in which, as a young actress at the start of her career, she gave the reply to four movie monsters: Marcello Mastroianni, Philippe Noiret, Michel Piccoli and Ugo Tognazzi.
In 1973, you are a young 26-year-old actress who has done very little filming. How do you meet Marco Ferreri?
It’s very simple, Marco Ferreri’s assistant was in charge of finding a plump girl. I was. But not enough yet in the eyes of Ferreri. My mission was to gain 25 kilos in two months, when I had already done two weight loss treatments in my youth. But I wanted the role so much that I performed. I ate five times a day, under medical supervision. I must have made a fortune at the Carette pastry shop, I stuffed myself with cakes there. Ferreri often invited me to dinner to check…
What did you know of his work and what prompted you to accept such a sulphurous role?
I did not know him. During my “preparation”, I ran every morning to the cinema Les 3 Luxembourg, which offered a retrospective of his work. I discovered, with delight, a completely free and crazy filmmaker. You know, the film was certainly very risque, but it was watered down a lot.
That is to say ?
To give you an idea, Tognazzi, for example, had to ejaculate in the borscht… [Rires.]
Indeed ! And then there was this quartet of big stars. How did they welcome you?
For a young actress, the idea of playing alongside such immense actors as Mastroianni, Tognazzi, Piccoli and Noiret was a dream. Marcello taught me patience, Ugo to sleep between takes. Michel defended me against certain journalists who wanted to photograph me naked. As for Philippe, he was a delightful man. They all behaved not only like gentlemen, but with real benevolence towards me. And imagine that we met every evening to see the rushes and go to dinner in stride!
Looking back, how do you explain the scandal surrounding this film?
Food, sex, death, it’s a hell of a cocktail. People were deeply shocked at the time. So much so that my father, who had liked the film, was not re-elected to the municipal council of Aix-en-Provence. At the same time, the young people who discover it today tend to howl with laughter. Like what mentalities have changed a lot…
It is not certain that such a film can be produced today…
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