The Second Act

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Second Act
FrenchLe Deuxième Acte
Directed byQuentin Dupieux
Written byQuentin Dupieux
Produced byHugo Sélignac
Starring
CinematographyQuentin Dupieux
Edited byQuentin Dupieux
Production
company
Chi-Fou-Mi Productions
Distributed byDiaphana Distribution
Release dates
  • 14 May 2024 (2024-05-14) (Cannes)
  • 14 May 2024 (2024-05-14) (France)
Running time
76 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench

The Second Act (French: Le Deuxième Acte) is an upcoming 2024 French comedy film written, shot, edited and directed by Quentin Dupieux. It stars Léa Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel and Raphaël Quenard. The plot follows a young woman who brings her boyfriend to meet her father.[1] It is a meta-comedy about actors in a doomed film production.[2]

The film is set to have its world premiere as the opening film at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2024 and will be released theatrically in France on the same day by Diaphana Distribution.[3]

Plot[edit]

Florence wants to introduce David, the man she is madly in love with, to her father Guillaume. But David is not attracted to Florence and wants to get rid of her by throwing her into the arms of his friend Willy. The four characters meet in a restaurant in the middle of nowhere.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

In January 2024, Léa Seydoux revealed in an interview with Télérama that she had recently completed two weeks of filming for an unannounced new film by Quentin Dupieux, then titled À notre beau métier ('To Our Beautiful Profession'), which would also star Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel and Raphaël Quenard. Seydoux read the script in one sitting and quickly accepted the role out of admiration for Dupieux who she described as an "extraordinary filmmaker" whose style of humour "hides an increasingly social depth, through imperfect and clumsy characters." She described the film as a mise en abyme about "actors who play in a lousy film" and confront their characters and lines, and as "crazy" and "very, very funny".[4]

The Second Act was filmed entirely in the Dordogne department and more precisely in Périgord noir region, from 4 December to 22 December 2023.[5] It was shot primarily at the aerodrome of Condat-sur-Vézère, a small private airfield still in operation. The existing airfield building, a former restaurant which has long been used for weddings, was converted over the course of a month by artisan craftsmen. The Atelier des fac-similés du Périgord (AFSP) in Montignac-Lascaux was involved in construction of the sets. The aerodrome's landing strip was disguised to give it the appearance of a lost highway.[6] The production also filmed near the AFSP in Montignac-Lascaux.[5] Thierry Bordes of Ciné Passion en Périgord, an association which supports film productions in Dordogne, claims that Dupieux has made "the longest tracking shot in the history of cinema" in The Second Act.[6]

Production for the film was kept fully secret from beginning to end.[6] The owner of the aereodrome, Roland Boissière, described the production as having the "greatest secrecy" and did not even know Vincent Lindon had come to film on his property.[6] Hugo Sélignac produced the film through his company Chi-Fou-Mi Productions.[2]

Release[edit]

The Second Act was selected to be the opening film at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it will have its world premiere out-of-competition on 14 May 2024. It will be released theatrically in France on the same day by Diaphana Distribution.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Quentin Dupieux's new comedy to open the 77th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. 3 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b Keslassy, Elsa (3 April 2024). "Cannes Film Festival to Open With Quentin Dupieux's 'The Second Act' Starring Léa Seydoux and Vincent Lindon". Variety. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (3 April 2024). "Quentin Dupieux's 'The Second Act' To Open Cannes Film Festival; Léa Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel Star". Deadline. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  4. ^ Morice, Jacques (2 January 2024). "Léa Seydoux : "C'est assez récent l'idée que je m'accepte comme actrice"". Télérama (in French). Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b Bonamy, Laurent (4 April 2024). "Festival de Cannes 2024 : le film d'ouverture, de Quentin Dupieux, a été tourné intégralement en Dordogne". Sud Ouest (in French). Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Bertrand, Marc (4 April 2024). "Le film d'ouverture du prochain Festival de Cannes a été tourné en Dordogne". France Bleu Périgord (in French). Retrieved 7 April 2024.

External links[edit]