Last September, the Théâtre Jean-Duceppe inaugurated its season with the adaptation by the author himself, Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard, of wildlife handbook (Your Mother, 2018). Six months later, the writer is quite proud that the miniseries adaptation of his novel, co-written and directed by Christian Laurence, is launching the new season of Séries Plus.
“I am an eternal perfectionist, recognizes Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard during a virtual press briefing. The adaptation allowed me to push further, to seek new business, to continue to do research. In only three years, between the writing of the novel and that of the TV series, there are things that have changed in the spirit of the times, in technology. So I was able to update the story. »
Producer of the series and interpreter of Damien Dubois, a businessman who has no time to waste with pitches laborious, Louis Morissette is delighted with the reunion between KOTV and the Corus team, the first to have recognized the potential of the excellent series Plan B.
“There is a particular pride and a feeling Plan B as far as I am concerned, reveals the one who was seduced by the writing and the subject of the novel. It is not a work that is really camped in a typical Quebec. There is something international in his words. I find it very cool what Christian managed to do visually; there is added value. »
Called on a film set, Christian Laurence briefly took the floor to insist on the creative license from which he benefited and the pleasure which resulted from it. “In my career as a director and creator, this is the first time that I have been accompanied so much in an approach that is so radical in terms of form. It’s extremely playful: we allowed ourselves to go into all sorts of forms within the very story and the proposal. I would like to highlight the exceptional work of our three main actors, Antoine, Virginie and Rodley, whose roles were written to measure. »
talk with the dead
wildlife handbook features Kevin Bédard (Antoine Pilon), ambitious son of a rich man from Thetford Mines, who tells how he founded a start-up with two friends, Ève (Virginie Ranger-Beauregard) and Laurent (Rodley Pitt), who have just broken up. What the trio offers to its future clients is to be able to communicate with their deceased loved ones thanks to their digital archives through a conversational robot (chatbot).
“As we had more space, it’s a closed series of six hours, we were able to give more ice time to Ève and Laurent, who take up less space in the book, explains the novelist. Our story is more that of a trio than the story of Kevin Bédard. It allowed us to cover more ground, to address other themes, to talk a little more about the place of women in technology, which unfortunately is still difficult in 2022.
In order to immerse ourselves in this story, originally narrated by Kevin, Baril Guérard and Laurence decided to break the fourth wall. This is how we meet Kevin during a conference given in the manner of a TED Talk. Addressing the spectators directly, the young entrepreneur takes them behind the scenes of his start-uppunctually rewarding them with lapidary formulas worthy of the most voracious businessmen.
“We worked so hard on this! exclaims the author, who also plays the role of P.-A., Kevin’s friend. This is one of the big questions we asked ourselves in the adaptation. I wanted the novel to be a sort of guide to success in entrepreneurship. It’s something that came back to me from readers who enjoyed the novel: to be faithful to the spirit of the book, it would take the idea of this guide. This allowed us to have a Kevin who has perspective, a certain shift, humor and also to remove a certain gravity. When something bad happens, it’s part of the plan. The character will take these lemons and make lemonade. »
We will better understand the rage that inhabits Kevin when he goes to see his father (Gildor Roy), who wants his son to take over the management of his prosperous business, and his mother (Isabelle Vincent), who cultivates the memory of their deceased eldest son. . To illustrate the bubbling spirit and the devouring ambition of the protagonist, the scriptwriters have multiplied the references to video games and brief scenes with frenetic editing.
“Kevin is always one step ahead of everyone. For me, it was coherent to do it like that. He’s young ; so we went looking for the world of the Web, video games, memes. There is a series that I really liked that served as our inspiration, How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast), on Netflix. There are so many all the time that you are constantly stimulated. It’s a bit of the bet we made: we’re going to put so much information on the screen that people won’t be able to look at it diagonally or by looking at their phone, ”says Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard, who quotes also the cinema of Adam McKay (Vice, The Big Short) as a source of inspiration.
“I find that the production and editing had to be aligned with the subject. We tell a story in technology, with people going fast in their heads, which unfolds quickly. Every moment when we were a little more passive, let’s say more classic, in editing or directing, that bored me. It was thought of like that, so that there would be a lot of rhythm. Is it breathless? I do not think so. Is it going faster than in other series? Yes, and I want it. This is what makes the series age well, ”concludes Louis Morissette.