Elie Semoun has still not found his next Ducobu. The fifth part of the adventures of the student Ducobu, the adaptation of the famous Belgian comic strip created in 1992 by Zidrou (script) and Godi (drawings), should be filmed next summer in Belgium. The comedian, who will direct this opus, explains why it is not so easy to find this chubby and mischievous young dunce.
How do you find the child who will play Ducobu?
I found the other children, especially Mademoiselle Gratin. She’s the top of the class and Ducobu’s little fiancée. To find little actresses, it’s easier. The girls are a little less stupid than the boys. For Ducobu, I am looking for a boy who is overweight. It is sometimes complicated for a child of this age to be round and to be comfortable in his own skin. He can be the victim of harassment, teasing. I am looking for a child who assumes his weight, who is comfortable, mischievous, who has charm. I am looking for a pearl. It has to be miraculous and it was for the first two Ducobu. As soon as they arrived in the office, for me it was obvious. I was praying inside that they would play well.
As a director, can’t we help the child to act well?
You need a good foundation. We received 5,000 emails for this film. I saw lots of children. Each time, I saw some arriving who were physically perfect and unfortunately it didn’t work as soon as they opened their mouths. They were talking wrong.
How is the casting going? Do you have them do a dictation?
No ! We send them a scene from the film and they do what we call a type. They film themselves with a parent or a little brother or a little sister who gives the line. The scene lasts less than a minute and a half. Already, I see if he plays well. And then we bring them in for real. It is decided almost in the first seconds. It’s like when you meet someone for the first time, you feel things. By force, I think I’m used to it and I can know if it’s OK or not.
Are you always looking for the same model of Ducobu or are you developing the character according to its generation? Is the child of 2023 the same as the child of 2020?
It’s the same Ducobu. However, I notice that today, the children all speak with a slightly “scum” accent, even when they come from the 7th arrondissement of Paris. That’s the only thing. It would not please Eric Zemmour, it is the great replacement.
Why not evolve the physical characteristics of this character?
I am obliged to respect the charter. Often, people ask me why I don’t do Ducobu in middle school or Ducobu in high school. It’s impossible. The characters don’t age, it’s like Asterix and Obelix. Even my Gustave Latouche character doesn’t age. Imagine accompanying Tintin with a bulldog instead of Snowy…
In the latest opus, there are quite a few references to current events. Will Ducobu be confined or will he welcome Ukrainian refugees in the next film?
In the previous Ducobu, we allude to the Covid but it is already almost no longer relevant. I like to do timeless things, like when I used to Classifieds or the sketches with Dieudo [Dieudonné]. If I talk about the war in Ukraine, in two years it’s over, I hope. It will make the film look old. Obviously, it’s not a film from the 1950s, they have cell phones, there are social networks. In the next, there will be influencers who will alert people to the dangers of pollution. But it’s not a newsreel. The characters are out of time. My Latouche character came out of the 1960s, teachers like him don’t exist.
Can you give us the theme of the next film?
We’re going to talk about ecology because this new generation is very concerned about this issue. On set, when I was smoking cigarettes and throwing my cigarette butt on the floor, all the kids were yelling at me.