Between the foul-mouthed orange stuffed monkey Jean-Marc and Jeff Panacloc, the relationship has been close for years on stage. It continues for the first time on the big screen with Jeff Panacloc: In pursuit of Jean-Marc by Pierre-François Martin-Laval. “I don’t consider myself a ventriloquist,” explains Jeff Panacloc to 20 minutes. I’m an actor who plays with other actors, except that the latter are a bit special. » In this case, Jean-Marc takes his independence: he is the one who explains how he met Jeff.
“It was funny to me to think that my puppet was playing in scenes where I didn’t appear. It had a bit of a schizophrenic side,” admits Jeff Panacloc. Jean-Marc, who is fleeing an army laboratory seeking to study it, meets Jeff on the roads where their friendship will be born against a backdrop of being on the run and gently provocative dialogues.
A Jean-Marc adapted for the cinema
“We watered down Jean-Marc’s way of speaking a little,” explains Jeff Panacloc. It was a way of making the film accessible to younger viewers. And, according to the previews, fans have not complained about this change. » Jean-Marc continues to flirt, make dirty jokes and embarrass his sidekick while they try to escape from a snarky soldier camped by Claude Perron without offending the future father-in-law of the hero played by Nicolas Marié.
“We also had to invent gestures for Jean-Marc,” explains Jeff Panacloc. The way he moved and interacted with the other characters took a lot of work. » The monkey has certainly retained his character as a badly behaved kid but he must also move independently, drive a car and ride a bike. “The spectators had to believe he was completely alive,” insists the actor. The good-natured humor that surrounds the duo makes them very likeable and the filming gave Jeff Panacloc the desire to return to the cinema between two shows.
Never without Jean-Marc
“The stage is my job,” he says, but I could see myself doing a film again with Jean-Marc because we were made to work together. He is part of me. Without him, I would lose part of my identity. » Jeff Panacloc can’t see himself filming without his accomplice, any more than he can imagine making Jean-Marc experience independent adventures. These two are truly made for each other on stage and screen.