The life of Bernard Tapie on screen. Two and a half years after the death of the businessman at the age of 78, his story is the subject of a mini-series. Directed by Tristan Séguéla (son of advertiser Jacques Séguéla) and Olivier Demangel, the fiction was presented this Sunday, April 18 during the sixth edition of the Canneseries Festival.
In the shoes of the former president of Olympique de Marseille and ex-politician, the actor Laurent Lafitte was chosen to take on this role. The biopic Tapie thus retraces “the romantic destiny of an extraordinary character”, “through his successes and his failures”, specifies the festival site in its presentation. What will be at the heart of this soap opera? , competing in the Official Ceremony Selection?
“The series looks back at the origins of the Tapie phenomenon, who had a not necessarily brilliant start, between an aborted career in song, small business, his meeting with Dominique and his relationship with his parents…”, we learn in the synopsis . Alongside Laurent Lafitte, the actress Joséphine Japy will give him the reply since she plays his widow on the screen. To complete the cast, there are also stars like Ophelia Kolb, Hakim Jemili, Camille Chamoux or even Fabrice Luchini.
The first two (of the seven) parts of the saga were unveiled as a “world premiere” this weekend in the presence of part of the cast. Before knowing if the soap opera will appear in the list this Wednesday, April 19, Internet users will be able to discover the mini-fiction in September 2023 on the American platform Netflix. A biopic that is already causing a lot of reaction in the media.
While some media, having seen the first extracts at Canneseries, seem conquered by the biopic, the family of Bernard Tapie is not of the same opinion. As soon as the images of Laurent Lafitte made up in the skin of the character were promoted and broadcast on social networks, several members of the clan took the floor to express their disagreement with the project.
For his widow Dominique Tapie, ruined, “Bernard had said no to this series”, she was indignant on March 26 on RTL against journalist Mohamed Bouafsi. “If someone has to tell my story, it will be my son Laurent. And, that’s it, no comment”. As for their daughter Sophie Tapie, “disrespect has no limit”, she lambasted in a story on Instagram, even revealing that her messages would have been “hidden” by Netflix on the social network, according to comments quoted by Télé 2 Semaines.
To ease the controversy, actor Laurent Lafitte assured that the series would be “as objective as possible. (…) It’s not about making him a saint. And it’s not about making him load either”, quoted by La Dépêche. Are you going to watch the soap opera on Bernard Tapie? What do you think of the controversy? Planet invites you to make your own opinion by revealing images of the series and the reactions of the members of its clan below.