The Toy
Production
Director
Scenario
Composer
Producer
Actors
Pierre Richard
François Perrin, journalist
Michel Bouquet
Pierre Rambal-Cochet, powerful businessman
Fabrice Greco
Eric Rambal-Cochet, son of Pierre
Jacques François
Mr. de Blénac, editor-in-chief of the newspaper
Daniel Ceccaldi
The family man
Charles Gérard
The photographer, colleague of François
Michel Aumont
Georges Pouzier, owner of the toy store
Gérard Jugnot
Pignier, journalist with sweaty hands
Short description
When Francois, a journalist, tours a big store for an article, he is chosen by the son of the newspaper's owner, Rambal-Cochet, as his new toy. Needing money and unwilling to quit his job, Francois agrees to this ridiculous assignment. Gradually befriending the spoiled boy, he induces him to play at making a newspaper, unveiling publicly the tyrannical way of life of the father. The powerful emotional climax we experience with the child astonishes both men.
What's left behind the scenes
- Fabrice Greco was 10 years old by the time of filming "The Toy". He got into the movie completely by chance, as he was the son of an acquaintance of one of the crew members. This was his only role.
- The film's director and screenwriter, Francis Veber, wrote a story titled "The Toy" back in the 1960s after witnessing a child's tantrum in a toy store. Many years later, he told Pierre Richard about the incident. Richard liked the story and persuaded Veber to adapt it into a screenplay for a comedy film and cast him, Richard, in the lead role. Richard played François and became the film's producer. The screenwriter, Veber, had never directed before, and the actor, Richard, had never produced a film. Specifically for this project, Richard established the production company Fideline, which later worked on other Veber films.
- Pierre Richard wanted to make a light comedy in the spirit of his previous films and, as the producer, believed he had the right to defend his point of view. Veber, for his part, insisted that Richard play a serious man rather than the simpleton seen in his earlier films. Furthermore, Richard was convinced that the first take was always the best, and Veber often had to persuade him to perform the same scene a second time.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
