Alain Chabat: “I would never have finished with Asterix”

Chabat recounts his animated series adapted from the fight of chefs, which will be released on April 30, in the new first issue.

Over 20 years later Cleopatre mission,, Alain Chabat plunge back into the cauldron ofAsterix and Obelix with an adaptation of Leaders which also marks its beginnings in animation. In the new issue of Firstin newsstands this Wednesday, the director explains his return to the world of Goscinny and Uderzo, which is happy.

Asterix and Obélix: The fight of chefs: Alain Chabat still hits, and it’s Fantastix! (critical)

“”At one point, I wanted to write something, but I had no ideas that held me enough to get started. So, as if to make ranges, to build my writing a little, I had fun adapting the fight of the chefs. It’s been a while since I had written, and I needed a subject that excites me. That I want to get back to it. Nothing better than Assérix, because I always have pleasure in plunging with these Gauls … So I wrote this little adaptation, but really for me. Without imagining that it could give something. And then it turns out that during a master class at the Cinémathèque, I spoke. But like that, by passing and forgetting that it was filmed. The Albert René editions fell on the video and asked me to take a look at this treatment, wanting to know if it could give something. I had made about 70 pages, but it was not over. I made them read and we started talking about it more seriously.“”

Chabat initially imagined this adaptation as a feature film. But by developing the intrigue and after discussions with the Netflix France animation manager, Dominique Bazay, he finally leaning for the mini-series format, which seemed more in line with his diffusion on a streaming platform.

An experience that allowed him to discover the work of animation, with all his complexity but also, the possibilities he offers, in close collaboration with Fabrice Joubert, the co-director ofAsterix and Obelix: the fight of the chiefs. The opportunity also to try to crack the Asterix code, an timeless work that fascinates Chabat and still resonates as much 66 years after its creation.

“”What happened on this production was super virtuous. The level of engagement of each person, whether the type that makes the textures, the one who takes care of the lights or the colors, or the girl of the special effects … I have the impression that it was exactly the same commitment as mine. Everyone was fully so that this project was the best possible. And maybe that’s it, Asterix’s secret. These characters have this power to federate, to create a collective commitment. After all these years, I understand a little better why they fascinate me so much, but I think that I will never have completely finished exploring them. This is what makes them so special.“”

Find our full file in the new issue of Firstin newsstands Wednesday March 26