“Shelter”, “The Fires of Love”, “Un Si Grand Soleil”, “Les Frères Scott”… The 62nd edition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival delighted all Monegasque series lovers! Back to the highlights…
Since Friday, the stars have been jostling in Monaco, which hosts, as every year, the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, whose fiction jury, chaired by comedian John Goodman (The Conners, The Big Lebowski, Argo), is notably composed of Sara Mortensen (Astrid and Raphaëlle) and Shane West (Emergency, Nikita).
For this 62nd edition, the organization has pulled out all the stops by betting on exceptional previews, such as the Shelter series, available next August 18 on Prime Video, or the unreleased prime of En Famille ” A heritage castle”, which will soon be offered on M6.
But also on the presence of actors much appreciated by the public, from successful series such as Here it all begins, Les Feux de l’amour, which celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday evening with great fanfare, Chicago Police Department, The Rookie, Ted Lasso, or The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
While, on the nostalgic side, Patrick Duffy (Dallas), now in the credits of Love, Glory and Beauty, Melissa Gilbert (Little House on the Prairie), as well as James Lafferty and Stephen Colletti of the Scott Brothers, are there to thrill the heart of series lovers.
Shelter will delight Harlan Coben fans
The novelist Harlan Coben had made the trip this weekend to Monte-Carlo for the preview presentation on Friday evening, in the wake of the ultra glamorous opening red carpet, of the series Prime Video Shelter, which is none other that the adaptation of his novel Discoveredand is the first chapter of the Mickey Bolitar saga.
Shelter follows the story of Mickey Bolitar who, after the sudden death of his father, starts a new life with his aunt in Kasselton, New Jersey. Mickey quickly finds himself embroiled in the mysterious disappearance of a new student from his school, Ashley Kent, which leads him to uncover unimaginable secrets within their peaceful suburban community.
With the help of his friends, the inventive Spoon and the secretive Ema, Mickey tears down the sleepy facade of Kasselton to reveal a dark side that may hold the answers to decades of disappearances, deaths and legends. .and perhaps even to his own complex family history.
Met shortly after the preview, Constance Zimmer (UnREAL, Good Trouble), who plays Shira, Mickey’s aunt, alongside young Jaden Michael (Colin in black and white), told our microphone how much she was delighted to be working with Harlan Coben, who is involved as writer, showrunner and producer on the series:
“There are no words to describe Harlan. His presence as a screenwriter, with his daughter Charlotte, made this experience magical”. The actress promises a series totally rooted in the novelist’s DNA, with “mystery, suspense, secrets, and amazing character writing”.
And after watching the first of the eight episodes that make up Shelter, it is clear that Amazon and Harlan Coben, for whom this is the first collaboration, have managed to shape a formidable effective thriller, full of questions and twists, which should keep fans of this kind of story in suspense for several weeks.
Denis Guignebourg/Bestimage The actors of the Fires of Love celebrate the 50th anniversary of the soap opera.
The Fires of Love are 50 years old!
2023 is an important year for the soap opera The Fires of Love since the cult American soap opera is celebrating its 50th anniversary! An exceptional performance these days… To mark this television event, the Festival therefore had to plan things with great fanfare.
Thus, four stars of fiction moved on the Rock: Christel Khalil (Lily), Bryton James (Devon), Amelia Heinle (Victoria) and Melody Thomas Scott, the interpreter of Nikki! Together, the actors walked the red carpet on the evening of the opening ceremony. To the delight of Monegasques, the actors took part in the game of selfies with a few people who came to meet them at the entrance to the Grimaldi forum…
The following day, lucky fans were able to exchange a few words with the quartet during a signing session. In the evening, finally, a big party was organized in the Monte-Carlo Bay palace to celebrate the incredible anniversary of the series. Once again, the fine team was the center of attention!
A magnificent cake was brought to Melody Thomas Scott and his acolytes … But nothing escapes the interpreter of Ms. Newman! Before blowing out the candles under the eyes of the photographers, she noticed that the pastry was not ideally placed to be admired by the assembly.
The main interested then interrupted everyone, then asked assistants to turn the room towards the guests… Queen of Genoa City one day, Queen of Genoa City always!
The Scott Brothers’ new challenge
For nine seasons full of twists and turns, The Scott brothers thrilled their fans around the world. Today, the Tree Hill basketball court is finished! The stars of the cult series indeed play in the big leagues.
James Lafferty And Stephen Collettithe respective interpreters of Nathan and Chase, indeed presented during the Festival their new fiction Everyone is doing great, of which they are the creators and of which they embody the main characters.
With AlloCiné, the actors also discussed this challenge. Stephen Colletti explained to us how he and his partner learn every day, on the job, to take on their new role behind the camera: “We learn how to be producers, showrunners, at the same time as we build the project.”
“I personally learned a lot from James because he’s already been a director for other shows, he’s already created stuff on his own, he reminded … I, on my side, had taken part in things a little, but without being as much involved. James inspired me.“
“This trial by fire is difficult but we like to do it. Wanting to learn and loving the task makes this whole process less hard, assured us Stephen Colletti. If you want to do better, there is only one way: you have to get started to do the job. There is still a lot to learn and I will learn a lot more in my life! In any case, I always try to be better.“Words approved by James Lafferty.
In Everyone is doing great, the latter and Stephen Colletti play Jeremy and Seth, two actors who rose to fame thanks to the series Eternal, and who are trying to return to the front of the stage five years after the end of the program. But it all turns out to be more complex than expected…
Denis Guignebourg/Bestimage
The actors of Un Si Grand Soleil during the Monte-Carlo Festival.
Behind the scenes of Un Si Grand Soleil unveiled
Since Saturday morning, the 62nd edition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival has also been punctuated by several free meetings between the public and the teams of the various series present, such as Love, Glory and Beauty, Léo Matteï, just renewed for a season 11, Lycée Toulouse-Lautrec (whose filming for season 2 has just started with two absentees in the cast) or En Famille.
The “Behind the Scenes” devoted to Un Si Grand Soleil, organized this Sunday June 18 in partnership with AlloCiné, was an opportunity for fans of the France 2 soap opera to discuss with Mélanie Maudran (Claire), Emma Colberti (Eve ), Moïse Santamaria (Manu), Fabrice Deville (Florent) and producer Toma de Matteis, who came to celebrate five years of success, while the end of season 5 will be marked this summer by the following arc with twists and turns centered on Claire and Helen.
The event began with the broadcast of a short presentation video of the impressive site of Vendargues in the Hérault – an extraordinary state-of-the-art production tool of 16,000 m² where filming studios, editing , mixing, set and costume inventory, and production offices.
The opportunity for Toma de Matteis and the actors to tell, among other things, the filming of the many scenes filmed in the studio on a green screen, with an instant 3D background overlay technology.
And to tell some filming anecdotes which delighted the faithful of Un Si Grand Soleil present in the room, who notably learned how the first names of the characters are chosen, how the writing of the episodes takes place, and if the return of old characters is planned in the coming months (good news, the answer seems to be yes!).