Definitely untouchable. Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, aristocrat and businessman who became a tetraplegic, “died last night in Marrakech”, said director Eric Toledano. His story had inspired the film “Intouchables”, one of the greatest successes of French cinema, directed by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. “It’s a shock and it’s above all an immense sadness because it’s a relationship that has an incredible longevity. We stayed in touch, we did operations together.
Coming from an old Corsican noble family, Philippe Pozzo di Borgo was the former manager of the Pommery champagne house. In 1993, he was injured in a paragliding accident and became a quadriplegic. In his book “The Second Breath” published in 2001, he tells how he came out of depression thanks to his life assistant, Abdel Yasmin Sellou.
This story will be adapted to the screen in “Intouchables”, a huge success of 2011 attracting nearly 20 million spectators. The two men are played by François Cluzet and Omar Sy, who will also win the César for best actor in 2012. “Forever in our hearts”, reacted on his Instagram account the actor of “Lupin”. Sold in nearly 50 countries, “Intouchables” registered 19.49 million admissions in France and achieved exceptional success in Europe, particularly in Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Italy. It has also been adapted in the United States (“The Upside”) with Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart.