Christian Laurence inspired a generation of filmmakers by co-founding the now global cinema movement in 1999. He quickly made a name for himself directing series for young people and documentaries.
Photo provided by Danny Taillon
Scene from the High Demolition series.
It was he who brought Aurélie Laflamme to life on the big screen. We also owe him the comedy series What if?, the travel guide To do in Greece: Anaïs’ list, the drama series Web therapy, the documentary series Taboos and Forbidden. He directed the youth series La dérape, then 5e rang, which he will be shooting again in the coming weeks. He teamed up with author Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard for Manuel de la vie sauvage, then Haute demolition, which takes us behind the scenes of humor and a creative then destructive relationship.
This is a second collaboration with the universe of the author Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard. What inspires you about his writing?
When I approached him for Handbook of Wildlife, I already had a digital heritage project that wouldn’t unlock. I devoured all of his novels. His style is spicy and addictive. Doing a series with High Demolition was only natural. It was so topical with the wave of denunciations. The arrival of this novel is the oracle command! I had been working on the adaptation of Manuel, but this time Jean-Philippe wrote with Suzie Bouchard. He is very generous with his work and doesn’t hesitate to remix it. They revised the form, which was primarily “I” since it was told through Laurie’s eyes. In the series we delve deeper into his universe. We let it live by itself. She has her own challenges. The age difference between Raph and Laurie is also more pronounced. Your demands are different.
What did you work on production-wise to allow us this immersion in the world of humor?
I wanted to be close to the characters. Unlike Handbook of the Wild, where the characters were rather cold, in High Demolition they are more bloodthirsty. We are less in craftsmanship, in technology, in graphics. We are always a handheld camera. During editing, the editor had given the pictures some battery. It was not planned. I decided to keep this. We brought in musician Charles Lavoie who created the live music. It gives the impression of a hectic pace. It sticks to the life of comedians. It’s organic. Like a heartbeat
Why didn’t you hire comedians to play… comedians?
That’s exactly what we didn’t want. Aside from Preach, we were looking for actors. We wanted to create a reality. There are comedian cameos, we name known comedians, we didn’t want to confuse people. We didn’t want to blur the lines between reality and fiction. We wanted to create a real cohort to give the impression that it exists in the real world. Etienne [Galloy] exudes great openness and is also an excellent actor. It’s easy to believe he was bullied in high school and that humor covers up his wounds. We had already decided on Léane [Labrèche-Dor] for Laurie. The chemistry between them was incredible.
There are several excerpts from stand up in the series. How did you direct the actors, since being funny is an art in itself?
It was the big challenge. Standing up is indeed an art. Some actors improvised quite a bit. Carolanne Boucher in particular. He’s a rising star, by the way. It was a lesson for Guillaume Gauthier and Étienne Galloy. They drove numbers in the brothel and were trained for two months. It was also important to show the development of a comedian. In the first two episodes we see the rise of Raph Massi [Étienne]. It ranges from not very good to very funny. This development also had to be felt by the general public.
This is a topical issue. Are you afraid of the middle reception?
I didn’t expect certain stories to come up again. Reality and fiction touch, but it’s not intentional. I dare to believe that the environment has improved. The excess we find in humor is also found in other settings where there is competition, particularly where men are being propelled and power bestowed. It’s the best and the worst for those who venture there.
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