In the Sarthe, a detective TV movie is currently being shot. At the heart of the plot, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the cast, the iconic Brandon of the 1990s series.
He thrilled a whole generation of fans of the American series Beverly Hills 90210 for ten seasons. Canadian comedian Jason Priestley, alias Brandon Walsh, is currently filming in Sarthe until May 12 for the detective TV movie Death on the trail.
The scenario follows two inspectors who investigate a murder that occurred on the occasion of the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Motorsport enthusiast
When the director of Death on the trail offered a role to Jason Priestley, the comedian immediately accepted. The plot – which takes place in the middle of motor racing – seduced the 53-year-old Canadian actor. “I was a racing driver for a long time, I’ve been around the circuits in the United States but never here at Le Mans, it’s great for me to be there, it’s a really beautiful city and everything is done to make me feel good”, he rejoices.
Alongside Jason Priestley, the cast also counts on the presence of Olivier Marchal and Éléonore Bernheim, a fan in her youth of Beverly Hills.”That’s kind of why I accepted too”, she confides“if someone had told me at twelve when, that I came home at 6 p.m. in the evening so as not to miss an episode, ‘Do you see that guy, the Brandon? One day, you’re going to shoot with him’, I wouldn’t have believed it!” laugh–she.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans as a film set
Behind the camera, Philippe Dajoux drives his team like a Formula 1 car. Sitting at the actors’ table, the director explains his part of the dialogue to Jason Priestley in the language of Molière. Over the month of filming, five days take place on the Le Mans circuit. “There are going to be a lot of shots of the circuit, on the pitlane (pit lane), on the circuit itself, on the Porsche corner… It’s very photogenic”, rejoices the director.
The production of this thriller, the year of the centenary of the Le Mans motor racing circuit, is no coincidence either. “My brother Didier Neyrac has been a cameraman for France Télévisions for 25 years at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and he’s been telling me for 7 or 8 years that we have to do something about this race, the centenary was the occasion”, says producer Jean-Baptiste Neyrac.
Synopsis of “Death on the Trail”: As the first tests for the centenary race of the 24 Hours of Le Mans have just begun, the body of a driver is discovered on the track. This was submitted voluntarily. Captain Sabrina Nedjard is in charge of the investigation. She will exceptionally be accompanied by an American observer, Ryan Martin, a member of the Los Angeles Police Department present as part of an exchange.
The telefilm will be broadcast on the antennas of France Télévisions at the end of 2023