4Rights, the acquisition branch of Channel 4, acquired the rights to produce an english-speaking version of Pigalle, la nuit, the Canal+ esoteric thriller that aired in November/December 2009 over here.
Pigalle, la nuit lasted a single season (8 episodes, 52 minutes each) and this american version, developed for a premium cable channel, would last 12-13 episodes.
The first season would be set in Moscow and would depict the russian mob. If the production company goes through with this, the writing and casting would be underway this year with filming starting in late 2012.
If this remake of Pigalle, la nuit were to be renewed, the following seasons would be set elsewhere in the world, but always within shady networks (prostitution, gun trafficking, etc).
A few characters from the original french version could appear in this remake - he's not named but I assume they mean the russian guy, Dimitri (it's been more than 2 years since I've seen the show but I'm not sure that Dimitri could be in a condition allowing him to be a part of this show, but except him I don't see why any other character would be in Moscow).
Sources : Tagne, Satellifax et Ozap.
Here's the cast of Pigalle, la nuit, a series written and directed by Hervé Hadmar & Marc Herpoux (who also created Les oubliées in 2007 and Signature in 2011 (6 episodes each)) :
— Sara Martins (Signature, Meurtre au paradis) as Fleur.
— Simon Abkarian (Les beaux mecs, Kaboul Kitchen) as Nadir.
— Jalil Lespert (Virgil, Le petit lieutenant) as Thomas.
— Armelle Deutsch (Elodie Bradford, Un village français) as Emma.
— Catherine Mouchet (Thérèse, Rue des plaisirs) as Alice.
— Yasmine Belmadi (Qui a tué Bambi ?) as Jamil.
— Linh-Dam Pham (Dante 01, Tout ce qui brille) as Sinh.
— Eric Ruf (Mon ange, L'homme qui voulait vivre sa vie) as Dimitri.
— Archie Shepp (no acting credit before the show) as Max.
— Clio Baran (Molière, Signature) as Hélène.
— Hubert Koundé (1788 et demi, Braquo) as Adam.
— Pom Klementieff (Loup, L'amour dure 3 ans) as Sandra.
And here's the opening sequence of the show :
By the way, not that anyone cares, but last night was the premiere of the sixth season of Dexter on Canal+. Watched by an average of 950,000 viewers (16% of the people with a subscription to Canal+), episodes 6.01 and 6.02 are the most watched episodes in Dexter's history (on the first viewing only), according to toutelatélé.com. However, it remains inferior to the launch of other Canal+ acquisitions such as 24 (the seventh day of 24 started with 1.2 million viewers).
Please, watch Pigalle la nuit. It truly is a compelling series. If you like unusual shows, this is for you.
ReplyDeleteMore than ever, this remake is a false good idea, because I think the people behind this didn't get what Pigalle la nuit was about, at all. Sure, this remake will have the advantage of being a totally different show (no risk of having a shot-by-shot remake) but saying that Pigalle la nuit is the source for what is described there (Moscow mobsters, sex trade, arms deals) is nonsense. This will probably be a good show (it'll be a dark drama on premium cable, there are more chances for it to be good than bad) but it couldn't be farther from Pigalle la nuit and it's lying to call it a remake given what they let us know so far.
You'd say that The Wire is a depiction of the life in Baltimore but moreover that B-more is the heart and the main character of the series, well ditto for Pigalle, la nuit. Shot mostly at night, filled with an esoteric ambiance, Pigalle la nuit almost installs a mystical/surreal atmosphere, whether it's outside or in the nightclubs, as we follow Thomas looking for his sister, Emma. But Pigalle, la nuit is not all about some kidnapping plot any more than it is about big shots doing some shady business behind closed doors. There's a bit of that, sure, but there are various storylines revolving around much more 'grounded' stories. Thankfully it never becomes a cop drama or an action series. Plus, the kidnapping plot is not dealt in any way, shape or form as anything else you would think of. It's very slow, blurry and foggy, we're as lost as Thomas, he doesn't know who is helping him or not, he's the hunter or the hunted depending of the situation (there's a little mystery behind his sister's disappearance and him snooping around is not welcome).
In the end, the show is about the Pigalle quarter and that's the main appeal of it (the directing and the photography are literally amazing). Sure, 3-4 out of the 15 recurring characters were involved in fishy maneuverings, but that was never the heart of the show at all and the guys behind this remake seem like they'll drop everything that makes Pigalle la nuit unique to have some random mob show. You can't replicate a show when the central character is a quarter, and choosing to make a criminal drama out of it is just too easy.
4Rights is probably thinking global, aiming at rentability and selling this remake abroad to as many countries as possible. That's the same reason why the original Pigalle la nuit will never be bought by a foreign channel, because it's too french. Not just because of the setting, also because of the slow pace, of contemplative sequences, no huge cliffhangers (there are a few twists though) and it's one of those show where the directing really matters. For instance, Braquo, another Canal+ original series, is much more mainstream, and that's one of the reasons why foreign channels are interested in it (as far as I know it aired in Italy and in the UK). In its genre (action/cop drama), Braquo is premium cable mainstream (if there is such a thing), and a fairly good one for that matter, but it is not a unique gem like Pigalle, la nuit.