TRENDIER THAN EVER, ATLANTIS TELEVISION RECEIVED ERIC CANTONA
Trendier than ever, Atlantis television received Eric Cantona on set for a very artistic strip that you’ll be able to watch exclusively on a public channel very soon.
Of course, he did not avoid the taking a picture in the photo booth with his local fan club after.
ERIC CANTONA: BEING FRENCH, IT’S BEING REVOLUTIONARY FIRST.
The former international football player Eric Cantona said Tuesday that being French is not only to sing the “Marseillaise” or to read Guy Môquet’s letter, but first and foremost, be revolutionary upon a system which forced some people to live “in the streets”.
“Being French, is it the duty to speak French, sing the Marseillaise, read Guy Môquet’s letter? This is being dumb!” he said, being asked about his opinion on the debate around the national identity, during the presentation to the press of his book of pictures of people ill housed conducted for the Abbé Pierre’s Foundation. “I’m not saying that singing the Marseillaise is being dumb, but building all of this (the national identity, ed. note) on it…” he specified.
“Being French, it’s being revolutionary, first (…) We cannot endorse everything that’s happening” added this grand son of Spanish and Italian immigrants, member of the Friends Comity and godfather to the Foundation.
Politicians “raise debates just before the elections. Everybody knows it but (…) we are actually helping them because that’s what they want” he said. “So, let’s stop talking about it, and let’s talk about some more serious and really bad things”.
Talking about his work of photography of French people without any decent roof over their heads, he judged “inacceptable to see this in a rich country”.
“What worries me”, he resumed, “is that there are people who see this misery but get used to it”. Whe get used to this system, to see people in the streets, to everything our TV says, to the politicians’ manipulations, to the cramming” he declared.
“We have to fight against ourselves, against our biases, against the easiness of some ideas”, and, “stop thinking it’s part of the décor”, he said.
ERIC CANTONA: THE THEATRE, A NEW CHALLENGE LOOKING LIKE A GAMBLE
The actor and former football star Eric Cantona is playing for the first time on stage at the Marigny Theater in Paris in “Facing paradise” of Nathalie Saugeon: a challenge according to his lover Rachida Brakni, who realizes her first solo directing.
As a sign of popularity in England for the former attacker of Manchester United in the 90’s, talked about by Ken Loach in a movie “Looking For Eric”, presented at the last Cannes Festival, the English press showed an unusual interest for a Parisian play in the last few days.
Without “King Eric”, 43, this two-actors play (with Lorànt Deutsch, a familiar figure in private theater) signed by a contemporary author unknown and in a little theater (311 places) would certainly not have taken all the attention from a very busy Parisian season.
The theatric baptism of Eric Cantona, under the direction of his wife Rachida Brakni (33 on February 15) helped the play to stand out. Both actors met on the shooting of “l’Outremangeur”, out in 2003, and Rachida Brakni flirted with the envy to bring Eric Cantona into her artistic field. She is a former student of the Conservatory, and shined on stage, particularly at the Comédie-Française where she was a regular (2001-2004), even winning a Molière for the theatrical revelation (in 2002, along with a Cesar of best feminine hope).
“I really wanted to put Eric Cantona on stage, I wanted to be the first to do it: egoistically, I wanted to be the one helping him discovering his passion for theater” she explained to AFP
On stage at Popesco, Eric Cantona will play Max, a prisoner in the ruins of a building that just collapsed. Hurt, he manages to contact a voluble man, Lubin (Lorànt Deutsch), who could get out of the debris but at the expense of his unfortunate companion.
“They find themselves in a complicated situation which brings them to look themselves in a mirror and see what sense they gave to their life”, analyzes Rachida Brakni, who talks of a closed place with every element to a psychological drama and a kind of suspense.”
the director had “no worry” concerning Eric Cantona’s capacity to blossom on stage. “With his personality and his aura, I told myself he knew what to do. More so because he is a former athlete, he’s not afraid by a lot of work and discipline”. Even with 12 parts in movies (since 1995), the former international is not really prepared for a difficulty specifically theatrical, the one “being without a safety net’ every night, admits his lover.
During the long rehearsals, Eric Cantona was worried “with doubts, just like everyone”, she underlines, “but it’s someone who’s not afraid of challenges, he likes to gamble. I think he is going to be transcended by stage fright”.
AFP
ERIC CANTONA’S BIOGRAPHY
Giving birth to Eric Cantona on May 24, 1966, his mother wouldn’t have think he was going to change football. Simply. The young man from Marseille joined the formation center in Auxerre, where he learns a lot before realizing his big debut with a pro team in 1983. In 1986, his great season gets him his first international selection. He wins the Europe Promising Championship in 1988 and signs directly a contract with Marseille. In august, unhappy not being selected by Henri Michel, France’s coach, he wont hesitate to publicly insult the coach. It’s the first newsworthy demonstration for Cantona, whose life will be punctuated by those declarations and gestures full of sincerity.
In January 1989, during a friendly match with Marseille, Canto as he is nicknamed, gets benched. Unhappy, he throws his jersey on the floor, which signs the end of this adventure in Marseille. He then joins Montepellier-Hérault with which he wins the France Cup. After an aborted return to Marseille because of a serious injury, he goes to Nîmes. Eric Cantona lets his nature speak, and during a match particularly hard, where arbitral decisions don’t suit him, he delicately disagrees with the referee, throwing him a ball to the face. The federation suspends him for a month, Canto answers through TV, and the Federation extends his suspension… Because of resentment or pride, the player breaks his contract and decides to end his career.
But his fans didn’t want that, among them, Michel Platini who persuades him to continue his career in England. He signs in Leeds, in January 92 and wins the England championship. He then becomes the favorite to the supporters. But his relations with the directors are not the same, and he leaves Leeds in December 1992 for Manchester United. He helps bringing he club back on the podium, winning multiple titles. He then becomes “King Eric”. Elected best player ever in Manchester United, the troubled child of French football didn’t loose anything of his nature. On January 25, 1995,in front of TV cameras, he does a “mawashigari, circular foot kick” on a supporter of the other team who had the audacity to insult him. Far from apologizing, The King had this answer that made his legend: “When birds follow a boat, it’s because they think fishes will be thrown into the sea…”.
A true icon, Eric Cantona quickly becomes the favorite to brands. He then appears in a lot of advertising campaigns, which was a sign for his later career. At 30, and after an ultimate champion title, the Marseille’s boy retires definitely to dedicate himself to his two passions: painting and cinema.
We then find him in “Le Bonheur est dans le pré” or “Mookie”. In 1998, he shines in “Les Enfants du Marais” where he befriends Michel Serrault and Jacques Villeret. He has the main character in “l’Outremangeur”, along with Rachida Brakni, whom he weds on June 16, 2007.
FILMOGRAPHY
2008 : Lisa et le pilote d’avion, Philippe Barassat
2007 : Le Deuxième souffle, d’Alain Corneau
2005 : La Vie est à nous!, Gérard Krawczyk
2005 : Une belle histoire, Philippe Dajoux
2003 : L’Outremangeur, Thierry Binisti
2001 : La Grande vie!, Philippe Dajoux
1999 : Les Enfants du marais, Jean Becker
1998 : Mookie, Hervé Palud
1998 : Elizabeth, Shekhar Kapur
1997 : Question d’honneur, Richard Aujard
1995 : Le Bonheur est dans le pré, Etienne Chatiliez
