When he prepares “Goodbye up there”, Albert Dupontel does not think of playing in the film. But a few weeks before the start of filming, an unexpected event forces him to take on the role of hairy Albert Maillard.
goodbye up there : a scam set up by two hairy people
Ambitious adaptation of the eponymous novel by Pierre Lemaitre, goodbye up there begins in 1920. In Morocco, Albert Maillard (Albert Dupontel) tells a French policeman about the events leading up to his arrest. His story begins in 1918, at the end of the First World War. As the conflict is about to end, Lieutenant Pradelle (Laurent Lafitte) provokes a final murderous offensive, during which Maillard almost loses his life.
He is saved by Edouard Péricourt (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) who, in his heroic gesture, is disfigured by shrapnel. On their return to Paris, the two hairy ones support each other and live with difficulty. To get out of it, they decide to set up a scam by marketing fake war memorials. For his part, Pradelle enriched himself without the slightest scruple on the backs of fallen soldiers, promising the State to offer them burials worthy of the name. A contract that he obviously does not respect.
Émilie Dequenne, Mélanie Thierry and Niels Arestrup complete the cast of this ambitious fresco, which alternates impressive war scenes and catchy sequences in the Paris of the Roaring Twenties, between comic moments and others much more tragic. When it was released in 2017, the feature film brought together more than two million French spectators in dark rooms. The film also won five Césars: Best Adaptation for Albert Dupontel and Pierre Lemaitre, Best Cinematography for Vincent Mathias, Best Costumes for Mimi Lempicka, Best Sets for Pierre Queffelean and Best Director.
Albert Dupontel did not want to act in the film
Originally, the filmmaker did not want to lend his features to Albert Maillard. A first for the director, headliner of his previous projects Bernie, The creator, Locked out, The villain and 9 months firm. Asked by Marianne in 2018, Albert Dupontel explains about this decision:
The clumsy and insufficient director that I am always hopes to camouflage his flaws through acting. My antics serve me as Patches and I use them to better sell my salad. Originally, I wasn’t supposed to play in goodbye up thereand besides, I didn’t need it since I was protected by the formidable book by Pierre Lemaitre.
The comedian goes on to say that he ultimately “had no choice”, adding that “the prospective actor (him) crashed two months before the start of filming”. The latter is none other than Bouli Lanners, to whom Albert Dupontel notably gave the reply in The villain and The first, the last. In the press kit ofgoodbye up therethe director explains the reasons for the hasty departure of his accomplice:
In overwork, he confessed to me that he could not participate in the adventure. I threw myself into a frenetic casting but a lot of potential actors were already taken. As for the others, I came across a lot of great talent and not really what I was looking for. I therefore resolved myself by necessity more than by desire to interpret this role. The increased fatigue was real, but as I stuck to acting and listening to the other actors in the film, little by little, Albert Maillard ended up being born.
Albert Dupontel and Bouli Lanners have since met in Goodbye idiots.
