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Michel Blanc, the legendary French actor best known for his roles in the Les Bronzés films and Monsieur Hire, has died. He was 72.

He died early Friday morning at a Parisian hospital after suffering a heart attack the previous night, according to Agence France-Presse (Afp).

France’s President Emmanuel Macron also paid tribute to Blanc on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “He made us cry with laughter and moved us to tears. A monument of French cinema, Michel Blanc has gone. Our thoughts go out to his loved ones and his acting accomplices.”

Born on April 16, 1952, in Courbevoie (Hauts-de-Seine), France, Blanc had a passion for classical music from a young age. But he later changed direction and co-founded the Le Splendid troupe, a café-théâtre company, in the 1970s with his friends, Christian Clavier, Gérard Jugnot, Thierry Lhermitte, Josiane Balasko, Marie-Anne Chazel, Bruno Moynot and Claire Magnin.

As for his film projects,...

French actor Michel Blanc, best known for his roles in Le Splendid troupe comedy films like the 1978 cult classic Les Bronzés (French Fried Vacation) and its subsequent 1979 and 2006 sequels, died early Oct. 4 at 72 of a heart attack following anaphylactic shock, per the Agence France-Presse.

A fixture in French cinema, his death was mourned by president Emmanuel Macron, who wrote on X: “He made us cry with laughter and moved us to tears. A monument of French cinema, Michel Blanc is gone. Our thoughts go out to his loved ones and his acting accomplices.”

The French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, added in a statement: “This morning the sorrow is immense, as great as his talent. In front of the camera of Bertrand Blier, Robert Altman or Pierre Schoeller, Michel Blanc amazed us with the variety of his acting, but also with his talents as a director with films like “Marche à l’ombre...

Michel Blanc, the French actor known for the “Les Bronzés” films and crime drama “Monsieur Hire,” has died. He was 72.

Blanc died early Friday morning after suffering a heart attack the previous night, according to Agence France-Presse (Afp).

Blanc was known for his role as the awkward bachelor Jean-Claude Dusse in the 1978 film “Les Bronzés” (“French Fried Vacation”), directed by Patrice Leconte. He starred in the 1979 and 2006 follow-up films to the cult French comedy.

Blanc was also revered for his dramatic performances in film, including in Leconte’s 1989 crime thriller “Monsieur Hire,” where he played the titular character. In 2012, Blanc received the César for best supporting actor for “L’Exercice de l’État” (“The Minister”), written and directed by Pierre Schoeller.

Blanc directed, co-wrote and starred in the 1984 film “Marche à l’ombre” and 2002’s “Summer Things.” Additional film credits include “Les Filles de Malemort” (1974), “Let Joy Reign Supreme” (1975), “The Best...

‘Give A Little Beat’ is about a family who go on a road trip across France.

Gaumont has packed its diverse Paris Rendez-Vous line-up with Laurence Arné’s family road trip comedy Give A Little Beat starring the director-actress alongside Dany Boon.

The duo play a remarried couple who take their blended family on a road trip in an old Jeep Cherokee bound for the French Atlantic coast. The scenic journey quickly turns to disaster as antics ensue.

Titled Les Hennedricks in France, Give A Little Beat is produced by Michael Gentile’s The Film, Bonnes Soeurs Production and Gaumont.

"Only an ass would defend a goat!" Pathe in France has revealed an official trailer for a new French comedy called This Is The Goat!, which is the fun English title of the original Les Chèvres (which translates to simply The Goats). Here's the pitch: Did you know that in 17th-century France, animals could be judged for committing crimes? In 1644, a goat is accused of murder... A failing lawyer in France decides to take on the case of defending young, innocent Josette, wrongfully accused of murder - only to realize later that Josette is actually a goat. Caught in the trap, he can't back down, being already the one who never saved a single one of his clients, he doesn't want to become the one who can't even save a goat! This time, he must win... by whatever means necessary. A film by Fred Cavayé, starring Dany Boon, Jérôme Commandeur,...

Exclusive: Co-stars Jean Reno and Christian Clavier to hit Cannes today (May 15).

Gaumont’s The Visitors: Bastille Day, a reboot of the popular French 1990s film franchise starring Jean Reno and Christian Clavier, has been racking up buyers since its launch at the Efm.

The film, which is in post-production, has sold to Benelux (Paradiso Filmed Entertainment), Spain (A Contracorriente Films), Switzerland (Jmh Distributions), Cis (Luxor Entertainment), Greece (Odeon), Turkey (Ozen Film), China (H.G.C. Entertainment), Middle East (Four Star), Portugal (Outsider Films) and Gaumont has done a pan-European deal with Monolith/Freeman.

The cast of the film, led by Reno and Clavier as comic time travellers Godefroy the Hardy and Jacquasse the Crass, will hit the Croisette today (May 15) to meet buyers.

“The franchise is back…fresh, modern and blending all generations of actors for a large audience,” said Gaumont sales chief Cécile Gaget.

Directed by franchise creator Jean-Marie Poire, The Visitors:...

Exclusive: New sequel to hit French time travel film starring Jean Reno and Christian Clavier set for 2016.

Some 20 years after Gaumont’s comic time travellers Godefroy the Hardy and Jacquasse the Crass first touched down in 1990s France, they are set to hit the big screen again next year in The Visitors: Bastille Day.

Gaumont International will launch sales on the third instalment of the highly successful time travel franchise at Berlin’s European Film Market (Efm) (Feb 5-13).

“The first two films were hits at home and also did well across Europe. We’re expecting it to be one of our top-selling titles at the Efm,” said Gaumont deputy head of sales Yohann Comte.

Popular French actor Christian Clavier, who is on a roll at the moment after the success of Serial (Bad) Weddings and Do Not Disturb, will reprise his role as Jacquasse the Crass, the uncouth servant of bumbling knight Godefroy the Hardy, played...

Fanny Feast: Auteuil’s Underwhelming Trilogy Continues

The mid-section of his Pagnol tribute, Fanny promises to give us the female perspective in the crossed lover’s situation established in preceding chapter, Marius. But just as the opening portion revolved at needless length around an eponymous character who is given little more to do than moon over finding his dream job on a big boat, the next segment feels more of a weary inevitability of the morose narrative than rather than signaling a differing viewpoint.

While Alexandre Desplat’s score dips less uneasily into insistent whimsicality in this more serious minded portion, it’s still more of a sycophantic simper than anything adroitly engaging with the material at hand. One can assume the final segment, Cesar, will suffer from the same slights, but unfortunately Auteuil’s extreme respect (and unnecessary proximity) in his adaptation of Pagnol’s material is exactly what...

You’re Horrible, Marius: Auteuil’s Next Stop on the Pagnol Train

At the very least, actor Daniel Auteuil’s return to the director’s seat with the first chapter of his remake of Marcel Pagnol’s Marseille Trilogy, Marius (the original 1931 version was helmed by Alexander Korda) is less aggravating than the 2011 remake of another Pagnol title, The Well Digger’s Daughter, but that’s not saying much. Slight in every conceivable aspect, it’s the initial chapter in a continuing provincial trilogy of wayward love and strict adherence to social norms, here related without any kind of additional panache, a workmanlike homage to the vintage cinema Auteuil desperately wants to evoke.

In the Old Port of Marseille, Cesar (Daniel Auteuil) the crusty owner of Bar de la Marine, runs his humble business with the help of his son, Marius (Raphael Personnaz). While Marius moons for his one true love,...

This is not the best French comedy I've seen although it contains a few good laughs. However, the film was seriously pleasant to watch. In fact, it's unashamedly hilarious without being silly to the point that you'd consider it as a film targeting children.

In 1123, Count Godefroy de Montmirail (Jean Reno) is about to marry Frénégonde de Pouille (Valérie Lemercier) after he had fought under the command of king Louis VI. Unfortunately, Godefroy did a terrible mistake that will make Frénégonde run away from him. In order to make sure that he'll have descendants, Godefroy asks Eusebius, a wizard, to send him (by serving him a potion) along with Jacquouille (Christian Clavier), his servant, back at the moment when the mistake was done.

However, given that Eusebius forgot to put an essential ingredient in the potion, Godefroy and Jacqouille are sent in 1993. In this period, Godefroy and Jacquouille will meet...