The team of The Press, but also the entire film industry, is in mourning following the death of its critic Marc-André Lussier. The latter, who was recovering from a recent heart operation, was found dead at his home on Friday morning. He was 63 years old.
As soon as his sudden death was announced, journalist Marc-André Lussier was described by his colleagues and by the cultural community as a model, both for his humanity and his professionalism.
“Marc-André will be greatly missed. Everyone loved him The Presstestified the assistant editor of The Press, Francois Cardinal. A discreet gentleman, a humble and positive colleague, he was appreciated for his obvious human qualities. Passionate among enthusiasts, he knew how to become a reference for his colleagues, but also for Quebec. »
Marc-André covered cinema with an enthusiasm that never left him, with an energy that never waned, and above all, with an incomparable mastery. He has thus been able to rise to the highest level of the profession thanks to an extraordinary curiosity, culture and dedication, which command the respect of all journalists.
François Cardinal, assistant editor of The Press
A friend, a co-worker, a hard worker who never counted his hours, Marc-André was above all a larger than life lover of the seventh art. Just a few weeks ago, he returned from the Cannes Film Festival, where he accurately predicted the winners of the Palme d’Or, the Grand Jury Prize and the Jury Prize, the equivalent of a full podium.
Our colleague was the oldest employee of The Press, where he worked for 45 years. He entered the advertising department on June 6, 1978, when he was 18, and worked there for 17 years. At the same time, he has always been engaged and attracted to the arts community. A singer in the 1980s, he was a semi-finalist at the Festival de la chanson de Granby.
At the same time, his love of cinema, revealed at the end of adolescence while traveling, among others for the films of François Truffaut, led him to read countless film magazines and to take note of his own impressions. movies watched.
In 1988, he started hosting a movie show, Special screening, on CIBL radio with several collaborators, including Bruno Boulianne and Patrick Masbourian. At the time, he received on the air a young filmmaker named Denis Villeneuve.
Ce dernier, contacté lundi, s’est dit « sous le choc » en apprenant la nouvelle. Il a tenu à rendre hommage à Marc-André, qui a été l’un des premiers à l’interviewer à ses débuts.
C’est quelqu’un qui m’a suivi tout au long de ma carrière, on a grandi parallèlement dans nos domaines respectifs. C’était quelqu’un de droit, d’honnête, de juste, qui avait une impressionnante intelligence et une magnifique sensibilité. Je l’appréciais beaucoup, c’était une référence.
Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve prenait plaisir à lire ses critiques de films. « Je l’ai lu hier encore pour savoir ce qu’il pensait du dernier Indiana Jones, nous dit-il. On vient de perdre un pilier important de la pensée cinématographique au Québec. »
« Une référence »
Le réalisateur Bruno Boulianne, qui le côtoyait à ses débuts sur les ondes de CIBL, se souvient avec admiration d’un passionné doté d’une ambition prodigieuse. « C’était quelqu’un de très humble, d’humain, de très sensible, témoigne Bruno Boulianne. Il savait bien argumenter pour défendre son avis et tout le monde le trouvait très juste. C’était aussi un grand intervieweur. Il était exemplaire, c’était une référence tant au niveau humain que professionnel. »
Parfois, Marc-André préenregistrait les émissions à son appartement, avec les moyens du bord, raconte le réalisateur. Il achetait même la musique de films pour se monter une banque de trames sonores. « C’était un bricoleur de génie. Il était devenu réalisateur parce qu’il travaillait par passion. Il était abonné à toutes les revues de cinéma. Il a fait ses gammes en apprenant sur le tas. »
Son travail acharné l’a mené loin. Même à l’époque de Projection spéciale, « les gens du cinéma s’arrangeaient pour passer à son émission, parce qu’il était devenu une référence, respectée de tous ».
À compter de 1995, il a commencé à signer ses premiers articles dans La Presse. Le jour, il travaillait au service de la publicité. Et à la fin de la journée, il descendait du 4e au 3e étage de l’édifice de la rue Saint-Antoine pour écrire ses reportages et critiques.
Marc-André a été embauché comme journaliste à la section des Arts en 2000. Dès 2001, il a couvert son premier Festival de Cannes. Il en a profité pour créer la rubrique des « Cannoiseries », série de nouvelles brèves sur la Croisette dont se délectaient nos lecteurs.
Au fil des ans, il a aussi été de tous les grands festivals, de Toronto à Berlin, de la Mostra de Venise à Karlovy Vary. À Montréal, il a connu les grandes années du Festival des films du monde. Son parcours l’a aussi conduit sur de nombreux plateaux de tournage.
De Denys Arcand à Woody Allen, de Catherine Deneuve à Pascale Bussières en passant par Wong Kar-wai, les frères Dardenne et Monique Mercure, Marc-André a interviewé des centaines de cinéastes, acteurs et actrices, directeurs photo et autres artisans du cinéma.
Marc-André Lussier est aussi l’auteur de quatre livres, dont Le meilleur de mon cinéma : les 300 films incontournables des 30 dernières années (2013), Mon cinéma : 350 films à voir ou à revoir (2018) et Moi, la biographie de René Homier-Roy (2018).
En plus d’être collaborateur invité ces dernières années aux émissions de radio Culture Club, Plus on est de fous, plus on lit ou La soirée est (encore) jeune, il a également coanimé l’émission À l’affiche cette semaine sur les ondes de Télé-Québec avec son grand ami Marc Cassivi. C’est avec ce dernier qu’il cosigne son plus récent ouvrage, Cannes au XXIe, paru en 2021.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Marc Cassivi et Marc-André Lussier à la parution de leur livre Cannes au XXIe
Un profil de plus en plus rare
L’animateur de l’émission Tout un matin à ICI Première, Patrick Masbourian, a fait ses débuts à la radio avec Marc-André Lussier en 1991. Il perd un ami et un collaborateur de longue date.
« Dès mon retour de la Course [destination monde]he interviewed me on his radio show [à CIBL], then one thing leading to another, I started collaborating with him, among other things for his special programs on the World Film Festival. Marc-André was an extraordinarily passionate and motivated guy. There is nothing stopping him. He was passionate about culture, music, but above all cinema, he worked with dedication and relentlessness to realize his dream of covering cinema, and he succeeded. »
Patrick Masbourian also remembers the “tremendous kindness” of our colleague. “If I exclude the members of my family, Marc-André was the only person who wrote me a note for my birthday without ever skipping a year. I also want to say that in the collaboration, he was always very kind. Despite my clumsiness when I started out on radio, he remained smiling and inviting. »
This benevolence, its sister Duty Odile Tremblay has also experienced it, she who rubbed shoulders with him throughout his career, here, but especially during film festivals presented abroad.
“Marc-André was the most organized guy I’ve known,” she told us. I called her my little bustard. When we were in Cannes, if I was lost or if I needed information, he always sent it to me. He often reserved a seat for me next to him, even if we worked for competing media. »
Odile Tremblay, who is also losing a friend, believes that journalist Marc-André Lussier was in a class of her own. “He was interested in cinema, of course, he was a specialist, he saw all the films, he had encyclopedic knowledge, but he also had a good understanding of the mechanics of cinema, of the industry. He really was on all fronts. This profile is increasingly rare. »
A fair critic
“We are losing a big one, a very big one”, loose in a breath Mario Fortin, former director of the Beaubien, Park and Museum cinemas, who says he is overwhelmed by the tragic news. “He was an enthusiast like there are few. An encyclopedia. It was a real one. »
Mario Fortin and Marc-André Lussier met when the latter hosted the show Special screening, which was then the only one of its kind. Since then, because the cinema has always been at the center of the life of the two men, their paths have often crossed. For Mario Fortin, few critics had the temper of Marc-André.
when he loved [une œuvre], we knew it. But when he didn’t like it, he still gave his readers and listeners a chance to make up their own mind. He would often look for the positive side, to say that everyone could potentially find something in a film. Marc-André is someone I respected and will respect for a long time to come.
Mario Fortin, former director of the Beaubien, Parc and Musée cinemas
“This news is a real shock for me, reacted Roger Frappier, president of the Montreal production box Max Films. Quebec cinema is losing a great companion of its existence. An intelligent, bright, good-humored and attentive being. A communicator passionate about his profession and cinema. »
“He was always nice”
Humble, self-effacing, fleeing homage, Marc-André Lussier nevertheless wanted to share his love of cinema and his knowledge by going to meet young people from several schools. In our newsroom as in everyday life, he was a discreet person. Within a restless team of art enthusiasts, he was a quiet force, always available to chat, but also always focused on his work, which he accomplished with boundless passion.
Marc-André Lussier celebrated in 2020 his 25 years as a journalist at The Press. “The cinema being for me a passion since adolescence, I have the very great chance of being able to earn a living by nourishing my passion”, he had said, that year, within the framework of a portrait published in our pages.
“Back when we could travel, nothing was more exciting – and exhausting at the same time – than covering major international festivals (Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and a few others). Conducting interviews with the best artisans of the seventh art is still a great joy, even after all these years, as is the pleasure of sharing this enthusiasm with readers. »
A few days ago, shortly after his return from Cannes, Marc-André had undergone a major heart operation which forced him to take a break, he who seemed to never stop. On leaving the hospital, he was delighted with an operation which “could not have gone better” and was already dreaming of his return after a few weeks of rest. Unfortunately, complications from the surgery caused his death.
“I reread the word he had written on his Facebook to talk about his operation and it was completely a message like Marc-André, comments director Bruno Boulianne. He was positive and, above all, he pointed above all to the work of the staff he met during his time at the hospital. He was grateful, humble and always so kind. »
The departure of Marc-André Lussier will leave a huge void. Within the newsroom of The Pressin the daily life of those close to him, as well as in the world of cinema and in the hearts of moviegoers.