Asterix and Obelix Take On Caesar
Short description
Set in 50 BC, the story follows the inhabitants of a small Gaulish village that has held out against Roman occupation thanks to a magic potion brewed by their druid, Panoramix, which gives whoever drinks it superhuman strength. When a Roman officer named Lucius Detritus learns of the potion and seizes it for himself, the village loses its protection. Asterix and his enormous friend Obelix set out to recover it, while Obelix is distracted by matters of the heart.
The film is a live-action adaptation of the comic series by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, directed by Claude Zidi, who also wrote the screenplay. It came after a run of comedies stretching back to the early 1970s, including Stadium Nuts, The Wing or the Thigh? and The Under-Gifted, and was followed by My New Partner III. Claude Berri produced, and the large cast is led by Christian Clavier as Asterix, Gérard Depardieu as Obelix and Roberto Benigni as Detritus, with Michel Galabru, Claude Piéplu and Daniel Prévost among the eighty-five credited performers.
Made for about 49 million dollars, it took roughly 102 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on a production of this scale. On IMDb it holds 6 out of 10 from around 48,000 votes, and on TMDB it also sits at 6 out of 10 from about 2,000 votes, indicating a broadly mixed but consistent response from audiences on both platforms.
What's left behind the scenes
- Asterix is a slightly modified typographical term 'asterisk', and Obelix is a 'Gallic' variation of the memorable term 'obelisk'.
- Filming of the picture began on January 26, 1998, and took place in Munich (Germany) and Brittany (France).
- One scene required extras to shout with all their might, cheering on the heroes. Initially, all these shouts sounded unconvincing. Then the director divided the extras into two groups of fans supporting different German football clubs and told them to “cheer” for their team. It worked.
- Around 100 real spiders were used in the film. Their fangs were sealed with wax to prevent them from biting. The insects were counted every evening, but towards the end of the film, several spiders managed to escape. Almost all of them died from the cold, but one spider survived and was later found on the set. The local fire department decided to make it their mascot.
- One real alligator and several alligator dummies were used in the film. To calm the alligators, they were placed in cold water. In one scene, Gerard Depardieu’s stunt double was supposed to jump onto the back of a dummy and ride it across the water. But the stunt double made a mistake and jumped onto the back of the real alligator. Fortunately, he quickly realized what was happening, jumped off the alligator’s back, and escaped with only a slight fright.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
