The comic strip “Paul has a summer job” will be adapted to the cinema

DAY

After successfully bringing to the screen the album Paul à Québec in 2015, director François Bouvier is working on a film adaptation of Paul has a summer job, the second volume of the popular comic book series by Michel Rabagliati which returns to the youth of the character. 

The project to make a second film inspired by the comics of Michel Rabagliati had already been mentioned after the release of Paul à Québec, in the fall of 2015. But at the time, the director François Bouvier wasn't particularly keen on the idea. 

“I didn't really feel like making several Paul films, one after the other. But there, the idea of ​​bringing Paul back to life at 18, I find that attractive, ”says François Bouvier, met on Tuesday on the occasion of the release of his new film, La Cordonnière. 

Summer Adventures

Published in 2002, the album Paul has a summer job recounts the summer adventures of Paul, the famous alter ego of cartoonist Michel Rabagliati, when he lands a job as a monitor in a holiday camp. During this summer of great upheaval, Paul will learn to overcome his fears and anxieties, while entering adulthood. 

In Paul à Québec, the character of Paul had been entrusted to François Létourneau. The challenge will be to find an actor to portray the hero at 18.

“It’s a great challenge, agrees François Bouvier. Working with an 18-year-old who will be present in 120 scenes of the film, for sure it has to be solid. But I look at the young actors and actresses I worked with on [the series] 30 lives, and I find that the next generation is really interesting. Young people today are lively and sassy and not intimidated by the camera. »

François Létourneau should still have a presence in the feature film, says François Bouvier. “The film will revolve around the character of 18-year-old Paul, but the 40-year-old Paul is also part of the story,” he says.

Collaboration with Rabagliati

As for Paul à Québec, François Bouvier collaborates with Michel Rabagliati for the writing of the film. He has already sent him a first version of the screenplay. “He read it and he is very happy,” he said. I want to hear his opinion because I want the film to have the same language and the same spirit as his albums. »

Released in 2015, Paul à Québec was a great success in theaters, with receipts of more than $1.2 million at the Quebec box office. Besides François Létourneau, the film starred Julie Le Breton, Gilbert Sicotte and Louise Portal. “It was a film that had done really well. The welcome had been warm. It was very rewarding