MONTREAL - There comes a point where a hit movie takes on a life of its own. When Canadian distributor Alliance announced last week that the French dramatic comedy Intouchables' $281-million box office made it the most successful non-anglophone film of all time last week (beating Spirited Away), that point seemed well past. And yet, the film is just now opening in North America; so it may have more lives yet.
Based on a true story, it’s the feel-good tale of an unlikely friendship between a rich, paraplegic man, Philippe (veteran French actor François Cluzet), and Driss (breakout star Omar Sy), a young black man from the ghetto who is hired to take care of him. The movie has had audiences rolling in the aisles since Day One.
When we held the first screening on Aug. 24, something happened,” Olivier Nakache said while in Montreal last month for the premiere. He co-wrote and co-directed the film with long-time creative partner Éric Toledano.
“We said, ‘Merde, what happened?’ We said that a lot (over the next two months), because there were many more screenings before the release. We knew we had something, but not to this extent.” Intouchables has raked in more than $280 million at the box office since it hit theatres in November.
Maverick producer Harvey Weinstein is pushing the film in North America, and has acquired rights for an English-language remake. Coming on the heels of Weinstein’s Oscar-winning triumph with another French film, The Artist, it is confirmation that Intouchables’s adventure is far from over. “We’ve talked a lot about a remake,” Nakache said. “We’re not opposed to the idea. But it’s a true story that has been entrusted to us, so we’d like to at least see the script and be consulted. The details are still fuzzy.
Colin Firth saw the film and said he wants to play the role of Philippe. Weinstein is very powerful. We met him and it went well.”
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