We know her as an actress (The cottage, You sleep Nicole) — and incidentally, as a member of the most fashionable gang of young actors in Quebec — but Julianne Côté is wearing a brand new hat this week, as she prepares to launch the series From Peter to daughterfor which she wrote the screenplay — a first for her.
Freely inspired by her life, the eight twenty-minute episodes tell the close relationship between Daphnée (Julianne Côté), a 24-year-old young woman whose laziness is matched only by the desire to bite into life. , and her father Pierre (Patrice Robitaille), a warm and larger-than-life man, determined to turn heartbreak into an opportunity to reconnect with free love.
Sitting at a café in the Plateau Mont-Royal with her accomplice — and director of the series — Marie-Claude Blouin, Julianne Côté affirms that writing is a dream she has had for a long time. “Dreaming of writing is easy to say, but very difficult to achieve. When the filming of Chalet ended, I felt a great emptiness. I had trouble telling myself that I would no longer have this creative side, this collaboration between friends in my daily life. So I got to work. »
His first idea, which revolved around a group of girls, soon proved to be too ambitious. “There were too many characters. However, there were two who stood out: Daphne and her father. When I made the decision to focus on them, everything came crashing down. »
After directing the actress in The cottage, Marie-Claude Blouin did not hesitate for a second to accompany him in this new adventure. “I’m Julianne’s number one fan on a daily basis,” she exclaims. She makes me laugh so much. It was a real pleasure to put his universe into images. I wanted to do something personal, that we find its color in the tone of the series, in the decor of the apartment, in the accessories. »
A honeymoon
The complicity between the two friends has visibly been reinforced by this collaboration, as evidenced by the sparks of pride that shine in their eyes – and the way they have to complete each other’s sentences.
“I was wondering if having written the text would make me a guardian of words, if I was going to be on the defensive with Marie-Claude’s notes. But the direction we were going was so clear. I completely abandoned myself to filming. I’m an actress, I need a captain. And Marie-Claude is a great director of actors,” says Julianne Côté.
There were too many characters. However, there were two who stood out: Daphnée and her father. When I made the decision to focus on them, everything came crashing down.
“As a director, I always have to have an overall portrait, while remaining open to the little marvels that we discover day by day, adds Marie-Claude Blouin. I need to be able to trust my instincts. It was a real pleasure at all stages. If we didn’t have the same feeling, we took the time to discuss, we did not feel obliged to debate or be in confrontation. It’s crazy to see how well things go when you know each other and trust each other. “It was a real honeymoon,” concludes Julianne Côté.
From Peter to daughter is punctuated by long tasty dialogues, in which intelligence, intertextuality, a touch of vulgarity and a good dose of absurd humor are entangled. The tone is set from the first scenes, where Pierre drags his daughter, despite herself, to participate in his breakup with his wife of the last seven years. From this first escapade, she will come out, in the name of revenge, with four liters of olive oil and a container of Espelette pepper.
Now free and reunited, the two acolytes will concoct an epic daily life in the streets of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, transforming outings to the hardware store and weeknight dinners into veritable crusades and legendary verbal contests.
Absurdity and authenticity
Although the characters are regularly thrust into larger-than-life situations, the series remains steeped in authenticity. “I have several authors around me, and I regularly see them draw inspiration from situations that are close to them. As this is my first writing, I found it reassuring that there was a kind of veracity in my story. It was my father, my muse, who inspired the character of Pierre. My dad is intense and colorful, he has a unique way of looking at life that I find inspiring. I took those keys, and made something else out of them. »
The face of Patrice Robitaille quickly imposed itself to interpret this extraordinary character. “We dreamed of it, but we didn’t want to take it for granted,” says Julianne Côté. We thought he would be too busy. He read first versions that were really not complete. Despite that, he immediately liked the universe, he put his whole heart into the project. » « It made us hallucinate how much he appropriated the music of the text. He knows little about Julianne, but from the first readings, he sounded like her. I was speechless,” continues Marie-Claude Blouin.
An ode to family
The project is a real family affair. Daphnée’s roommate and girlfriend are played by good friends of Julianne Côté, Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse and Karelle Tremblay. The music, which is in itself a character, as it contributes to the atmosphere and the emotional tension, was composed by the brother of the actress, Jean-Raphaël Côté.
“My brother is 20 years old, and he has always had a band. He is an autodidact who has a lot of talent. Sometimes he sent me beats for my personal pleasure, and it helped me dream up the series, it gave me ideas for scenes. But it was Marie who had the click. »
“We already wanted to integrate his music into a few scenes, then I wondered what it would be like to merge their two worlds, to let him interact with the scenes and the editor. We made a studio for him in the office of my production company Pass Go, he moved in with his dog and he delivered. »
Julianne Côté therefore pays tribute to the people who forged her through this first screenplay. Her father, her friends, but also her mother, who died when she was three years old. “I have often been embarrassed by the famous normality of all friends who have both parents. Speaking of my mother, I didn’t want to take out the violins, but it’s a way to free myself, to reclaim my story, to expose it gently. The series is an ode to all the people I love. »