EnglishMovies - Happy winners: interview with Maxime Govare & Romain Choay
By Mulder, 29 february 2024
Happy Winners, to be released in France on Tuesday March 13, 2024, is a French comedy directed by Maxime Govare and Romain Choay. It stars Audrey Lamy, Fabrice Eboué and Pauline Clément. The film's synopsis plunges us into an unlikely but coveted situation: winning the lottery with a chance of one in 19 million, more improbable than being hit by a meteorite. For the protagonists of this story, this dream of wealth quickly turns into a nightmare, their lives collapsing in a chaos of black comedy and thrills.
Happy Winners explores the sudden impact of wealth on the lives of ordinary people, and shows how a stroke of luck can turn into a trial full of lust and complications. Directors Maxime Govare and Romain Choay were inspired by the desire to tell the story of how a seemingly positive event like winning the lottery can reveal and upend human nature and personal values. They were interested in the extraordinary stories that happen to ordinary people, pointing out that winning the lottery is like a "particle gas pedal" for life, changing it overnight. The film is a humorous yet critical exploration of the impact of sudden fortune on the lives of individuals, promising a mix of humor, drama, and reflection on human nature and social relationships in the contemporary context. With a talented cast and an original story, Happy Winners promises to be a not-to-be-missed comedy for fans of the genre looking for laughs and moments of reflection.
Q: How did you come up with the idea of making a film about lottery winners ?
Maxime Govare : We wanted to tell the story of something that can totally upset human nature and all its value systems, and money that falls from the sky thanks to a game of chance like the lottery was a perfect fit.
Romain Choay: It was about extraordinary stories happening to ordinary people. Winning the lottery is like a particle gas pedal. Your life changes overnight.
Q: But for you, winning the lottery can become a nightmare... What were your reasons for making this choice ?
Maxime Govare : First of all, because it's not far from part of reality. We know, for example, that 50% of people who win are ruined within four years. It's too much money all at once for people who aren't necessarily ready for it, and it attracts too much covetousness. Then there's the example of a comedian we know whose wife played Loto with two close friends. They had bought three different slips, but she was the only one with the right numbers, and her two girlfriends wanted her to split it three ways, which was absurd. So on the same day she won 1.5 million and lost her best friends.
Romain Choay: We wanted to make a film that was playful and fun for the spectators, who were placed at the center of the situations, making a rollercoaster of emotions that played with our feelings in a way that was sometimes a little ferocious and ironic.
Maxime Govare: There are things we've heard and things we've extrapolated.
Romain Choay: But nothing is really based on a true story. It's all made up.
Q: There are different stories of winners in this film: those who think they're saved from everything because they're poor, those who get ripped off and those who lose their moral bearings. Why is it so complicated to become very rich all at once ?
Maxime Govare: It would terrify me. If I won 30 million, I'd have no reason to get up in the morning. I also have the impression that it distorts relationships with others. It's a bit like when you're a superstar: everyone thinks you're handsome, nice and funny all the time. So, when you win, are your friends still your friends, or are they just interested? In the movies, the lottery is always treated as a light comedy, even though it's actually very violent.
Romain Choay: The people who win change, but so does everyone around them, and that becomes a huge weight to carry from one day to the next. Each of our stories is written so that this extraordinary and brutal event occurs at a pivotal moment in the lives of the main characters.
Q : How do you go about writing and directing in tandem ?
Maxime Govare: We've already written three films together. On this one, we wanted to be a single voice, to become a two-headed hydra. Most of the work was done during the writing stage, when we were able to compare our visions, with our similar universes enriching each other. Once we agreed, we shared all the roles, whether in terms of technical aspects or directing the actors.
Romain Choay: This is the first film I've directed, and I was lucky enough to benefit from Maxime's experience. I hope I've brought some freshness to the tone.
Q: Did you have any references in terms of black and satirical humor, completely out of sync with "Heureux Gagnants" ?
Maxime Govare: Our UFO totem is Damián Szifrón's Les Nouveaux Sauvages. I could also mention "Very Bad Things" by Peter Berg and of course "Barbaque" directed by Fabrice Eboué.
Romain Choay: I'd also mention, without any pretension, Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" in the way it tells several stories linked by the same theme. We were also inspired by certain aspects of Claude Chabrol's work. The idea was to propose a genre for each story: action, romantic comedy or something a little more cynical...
Q: In the ferocious portraits you paint of the human race, are there any things you haven't allowed yourself to do ?
Maxime Govare : Not at all, but at the outset we had a lot more stories to tell and we tightened things up around those that offered a total sense of urgency, and for which there was a real rhythm to be maintained. Quite the opposite of a chronicle, a word we'd banished from our vocabulary.
Romain Choay: We didn't censor ourselves, but after telling these dark, ferocious stories, we wanted the film to end on a brighter, more human note.
Maxime Govare: We didn't want to make a nihilistic film, but to tell in our own way that money can't buy happiness.
Q: Doesn't money falling from the sky reveal people's true personalities ?
Maxime Govare : Absolutely, and that's what the film says: money doesn't change people, it just reveals their true nature. It shows an aspect of them that was a little hidden.
Romain Choay: It's interesting to show this at a time when we're so preoccupied with how others perceive us. Winning the lottery clears everything up.
Q: This is the case of Louise and Paul who win 5 million. Paul will do anything to regain the esteem and love of his family, to give them a better life, and then it's off to a pure action movie as they race against the clock to hit the jackpot. Was it fun to write and film ?
Maxime Govare: Writing, yes, but shooting was a little more complicated. I have the impression that a lot of people could react like Paul and take all the risks, including going to prison to keep his family safe. All the more so as we can feel the tension in the couple and he can't let his wife down again. Hence the urgency and the fact that the viewer can share his point of view.
Romain Choay: He's a passive guy who takes action for the first time in his life, and thus becomes a man of action. He's also someone who's taken a lot on himself, and when he finally moves, it spills over.
Q: Why did you choose Fabrice Éboué to play Paul ?
Maxime Govare : Fabrice ticked two boxes, that of black humor of course, but also the fact that he represents the average Frenchman so much through his roles, a bit touching in his cowardice, a bit of a magnificent loser. He's our Marianne au masculin, and he's exuding more and more humanity. The script made him laugh a lot. And we ourselves laughed a lot when we went to see "Barbaque" while we were in the middle of writing the film.
Q: Audrey Lamy has the ability to go from laughter to tears in the blink of an eye. Is that what you wanted in Louise ?
Maxime Govare: There are drama actresses and comedy actresses. Audrey simply excels in both genres. Pleasant and spontaneous, she embodies something very popular, in the noble sense of the word, close to the people.
Romain Choay: We had already observed the chemistry between them in Fabrice's film "Coexister", and we verified it in rehearsals and on location. She moves as fast as he does, even when he's improvising, and that's when you have to keep up. Audrey is perfect.
Q: Pauline Clément, a resident of the Comédie-Française, plays Julie, who meets the very handsome and very conning Thomas on the very day she hits the 10 million jackpot. How would you define this character ?
Maxime Govare: She's in love with love: she doesn't care about money. Our reference was Richard Curtis's Il Était Temps, in which the hero travels through space and time to find the woman of his dreams. Julie, too, is on a quest for love, and inevitably terrified of being loved for her money. Winning the Lotto is almost bad news for her, a burden. Pauline is brilliant in this role, because it's like "Alice in Wonderland". She plays to her own music.
Romain Choay: It's a pure romantic comedy story, but we played a bit with its codes by introducing our own little bit of never sadistic nastiness. We'd seen Pauline in the parody series "Broute", and in the opening scene of the film "Le Sens De La Fête", where she was great. She even has a touch of Bridget Jones about her.
Q: And then there's the story of the Ehpad in which the staff steal the winning ticket for 60 million from Henri, an old man who has just died on learning he's won, and divide the winnings between them. Were you interested in the amoral aspect of the group dynamic ?
Maxime Govare : Oh yes, totally. And we were also interested in having a character who was almost too good to begin with. Sandra, played by Anouk Grinberg, has a kind of positive radicalism that turns negative. This strength of conviction then takes very different paths.
Romain Choay: The notion of group dynamics is also a reflection of reality. Sometimes fire stations or police stations win together, and that makes for interesting stories that don't always end well. Sandra the nurse is such an altruistic character. What does this angel do with lots of money, does she become evil?
Q: Did you immediately think of Anouk Grinberg to play Sandra, who at first refuses to accept the theft and then becomes worse than the others ?
Romain Choay: She was one of our first choices, and we found it hard to imagine her saying yes. Today, it's impossible to see anyone else in this role. She doesn't play, she is, she embodies.
Maxime Govare: Anouk has taken the role head on, it's her character, she's made some strong choices, some incredible proposals.
Q: In this story, they all become rich and rather vile, but a curse befalls them. Was it necessary for those who did evil to be punished ?
Romain Choay: But are you sure there's a curse on them? Or is it in their heads? The group effect is combined with irrationality. It's up to the viewer to make up his or her own mind, and everyone can put their own spin on it. That's what motivated us. It's a very interactive film. Almost in a Hitchcockian vein. Maxime Govare: At what point do you create your own misfortune? We had fun surfing on the idea of conspiracy. You take two elements that have nothing to do with each other and link them together: conspiracy. But is it true? It's up to you to decide.
Q: The payoffs build to a crescendo over the course of the film. In particular, there's a segment that may surprise the viewer...
Maxime Govare : It's no coincidence. The surrealism grows as the film progresses, and this is reflected in the stakes and the level of fiction.
Romain Choay : When you tackle divisive, limitative subjects with humor, laughter helps defuse them, and the comedy takes on an extra, stronger and more topical dimension.
Q : Is it Happy Winners or Unhappy Winners ?
Romain Choay: It's like a "Whodunnit": who's going to end up as the lucky winner? The end of the film answers the question.
Maxime Govare : Maybe we're torturing the characters who win, but I have the impression that if the film is a success, people will play the lottery even more. Because, beyond winning money, there's the promise of incredible events and extraordinary adventures. It's this emotional rollercoaster that we wanted the audience to experience.
Synopsis:
1 chance in 19 million. More likely to be hit by a meteorite than to win the lottery. For our lucky winners, the dream quickly turns into a nightmare, and their lives are shattered in a spectacular display of black comedy and thrills.
Happy Winners
Written and directed by Maxime Govare and Romain Choay
Produced by Renaud Chélélékian
Starring Pauline Clément, Louise Coldefy, Diessy Diess, Fabrice Éboué, Anouk Grinberg, Esteban Hernandez-Sanchez, Audrey Lamy, Victor Meutelet, Sami Outalbali, Inès Angélina Amandio
Music by David Menke, Lionel Liminana
Cinematography : Patrick Ghiringhelli
Edited by Samuel Danesi
Production companies : Les Improductibles
Distributed by Warner Bros. France (France)
Release date : March 13 2024 (France)
Running time : 103 minutes
Photos : Copyright Pascal Chantier / 2023 Les improductibles - Marvelous Productions - France 2 cinéma - C8 films
(source: press kit)