Jack Mimoun with Malik Bentalha: what is the link with Predator?

First steps in directing…

Jack Mimoun and the Secrets of Val Verde marks the first steps of actor Malik Bentalha in writing and directing a feature film. For the occasion, he teamed up with Ludovic Colbeau-Justin on the production, and with Tristan Schulmann and Florent Bernard on the screenplay. He says :

“This desire came to me by dint of spending time on the sets. When I had finished my takes, I stayed to observe. All this intrigued me… And when I saw the final result, after editing, I understood how the magic of the staging could have operated.”

“Over time I wanted to make this a reality, also sometimes in the face of a certain frustration during filming. not go to the directors to talk to them. So after a while, I was like ‘why not me?'”

Cult reference!

Cody Mcfly

If the name Val Verde reminds you of something, it’s normal. Beyond the obvious reference to the Indiana Jones saga in the costume worn by Jack Mimoun, the film also hides a nod to 58 minutes to live. In this cult film with Bruce Willis, mention is made of a Latin American country, Val Verde, which was allegedly subjected to the dictatorial regime of General Esperanza.

However, it is a totally fictitious state, the fruit of the imagination of producer Joel Silver. We find this name in two other action films he produced in the 1980s: Commando (1985) and Predator (1987).

Shooting in the middle of a pandemic

Cody Mcfly

Initially, Malik Bentalha wanted to shoot the film on Reunion Island, which turned out to be impossible for technical reasons. He then set up his cameras in Thailand in February 2021 for scouting, before filming in April-May-June. He remembers :

“We found extraordinary sets that became inaccessible the day before for the next day. We had to leave in the middle of the night to find others without really seeing them.”

“All this, under extremely strict sanitary conditions: 15 days of isolation each time we returned to the site before being able to leave our hotel room.”

“The whole cast has agreed to play the game, away from families or friends. In these periods of confinement, we have obviously furnished the rooms with either treadmills, Playstations or terraces to be able to get some fresh air.”

“I think that in the end it wasn’t that difficult: we settled down, we refined our roles or the technical aspects of the film for me and in fact, all that united the group before shooting. ..”

Jean-Marc Bastos!

Cody Mcfly

François Damiens plays Jean-Marc Bastos, a totally crazy helicopter pilot and former soldier. To write the role, Malik Bentalha and Tristan Schulmann were inspired by Commando with Schwarzenegger and Thunder in the tropics with Ben Stiller. The first develops:

“These guys who shoot first and talk later! Bastos loves weapons, he admires the Americans and at the same time he is very touching in his solitude, having also experienced terrible things at the front. I think the public will really become attached to him while finding him rather disturbing…”

Who for Aurélie Diaz?

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For the character of Aurélie Diaz, Malik Bentalha and Ludovic Colbeau-Justin were looking for an actress who has charm but who also finds her place among actors with strong comic potential. They had for reference Kathleen Turner in The pursuit of the green diamond:

“I know that Joséphine has worked a lot on her role, in particular watching Philippe De Broca’s films. You know, in this profession, there are good and bad students. On my screenplays, there is nothing, not a annotation, no highlighting”, says Malik Bentalha, continuing:

“Josephine’s for Jack Mimoun, contains photos, handwritten sentences, drawings at each of his scenes!”