City Hunter
Short description
Private detective Nicky Larson is hired to protect a prototype fragrance known as the perfume of Cupid, which grants the wearer an irresistible appeal to others. When the scent is stolen, Larson must recover the valuable bottle to restore his professional reputation. He is joined in this mission by his partner Laura, as well as his companions Pancho and Skippy.
This French action comedy was directed by Philippe Lacheau, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Julien Arruti and Pierre Lacheau. Within the director's career, this project followed Alibi.com and preceded Superwho?. The film stars Philippe Lacheau in the title role, alongside Élodie Fontan, Tarek Boudali, Julien Arruti, Didier Bourdon, and Pamela Anderson.
The production was handled by M6 Films, Sony Pictures Entertainment France, and Axel Films. Financially, the movie earned 15 million USD at the worldwide box office. It has received a consistent reception from viewers, holding a 6.5/10 rating on IMDb from 6,300 votes and a 6.5/10 rating on TMDB from 850 votes.
What's left behind the scenes
- Filming began on May 21, 2018, and ended in August of the same year. The entire process took only 14 weeks of filming, which is rare for a French comedy. Filming took place at Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, and was planned to continue in Monaco, Paris, and in Île-de-France (this is a historical region of France and the region between the Seine, Marne, and Oise rivers).
- In one scene in the film, Nicky Larson sees a gust of wind lift a woman's skirt. At the same moment, a cawing raven flies across the frame. This is another reference to the original. In the manga and anime "City Hunter", whenever someone does something foolish, a raven flies by, cawing "A-ho! A-ho!". Translated from Japanese, "aho" means "idiot" and sounds similar to a raven's caw.
- To better understand and feel the world of the main character, Nicky Larson, Julien Arruti, Philippe Lacheau, and his brother Pierre Lacheau (all members of the creative team behind the 2014 comedy "Babysitting," directed by Nicolas Benamou and Philippe Lacheau) rewatched all 144 episodes of the cartoon series shown in France and reread all 37 issues of the manga.
- At the beginning of the film, Laura takes a photo with an image of the XYZ code. In the original manga and anime “City Hunter”, this code is used by Ryo Saeba's clients to schedule a meeting.
- Filming took place in Paris and in the south of France.
- To gain 8 kg of muscle mass for the role of Nicky Larson, Philippe Lacheau underwent 8 months of grueling training and a special diet.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
