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Evelyne Brochu - Trop Commercial (2018)
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Evelyne Brochu dives into the history
The actress plays in the ambitious French series Paris Police 1900
At this time last year, Evelyne Brochu was finishing the shooting of Paris Police 1900. Twelve months later, the series was finally broadcast in France. In an interview with JDM, the Quebec actress was delighted with the final result. With good reason.
After watching the first season of the French historical thriller, we see that Canal+ has pulled out the heavy artillery to put into images this great political-social fresco by Fabien Nury, which depicts the rise of anti-Semitism in France at the turn of the 20th century. The French press speaks of a budget of $24 million for eight episodes. This is enormous.
“I traveled to Paris to shoot a series of period films, and when I watch it today, I feel like I’m traveling through time,” says Evelyne Brochu, “On my iPad, I was breathless. The visual quality, the choice of shots, the editing, the music, the distribution? On the spot, I couldn’t believe it. I was like: my God! There are so many extras! So many corsets, hairstyles, costumes… It was extraordinary.”
An incredible opportunity
Evelyne Brochu knows how lucky she is to have participated in the project, which has been receiving excellent reviews in Europe since it went on air earlier this month.
“It was magical. We shot in huge castles… It’s incredible that being an actress could open so many doors. You visit places that you would never have the opportunity to visit as a tourist… You have to savor every moment.”
InParis Police 1900, Evelyne Brochu plays Marguerite Steinheil, known as Meg, a courtesan turned spy. The former mistress of President Felix Faure, who tries to climb the ladder despite her status as a second-class citizen.
“The woman was having a hard time. No right to vote, no right to have a bank account, and as soon as someone said ‘I saw this girl, she’s a whore’, she was locked up in Saint-Lazare for three months. As the author would say, for many of them it was: how do you learn to play cards when you start with the worst hand in the group?”
Evelyne Brochu describes Meg as a woman of heart with a rascal side. “Even if she doesn’t have a good deck of cards, she’s able to play the game because she sees the moves coming.”
A “modern” series
Paris Police 1900 may revisit the past, but Evelyne Brochu describes it as a modern series. Not only because it highlights strong female characters, but because it raises issues that continue to resonate in 2021, notably by taking up word for word the inflammatory speeches of Jules Guérin, a famous anti-Semitic activist and director of a weekly magazine called L’Antijuif.
“Using hate as a marketing tool… It’s very parallel to what we’ve been going through over the last four years,” says Evelyne Brochu.
Paris Police 1900 is not yet available in Quebec. Evelyne Brochu crosses her fingers that a local channel will acquire its broadcasting rights.
Given its success, the shooting of season 2 could start in January 2022. “That would give me time to get back into the corset!” jokes the actress.
A “BIG MATERNITY LEAVE”
For Evelyne Brochu, the new mother of twins, the pandemic proved to be a “great extended maternity leave”.
Contacted on the phone, the actress recounts having spent the first confinement with Laurier, her 2-year-old little boy. Then in November, the little family grew with the arrival of Camille and Matthias.
“It would have been a moment of cocooning anyway,” observes the 37-year-old actress. “But I would definitely want to introduce my children to everyone I love. I miss them.”
Sad for Montreal
Although she spent the last year with her family in a closed retreat, the Montrealer witnessed the ravages of the coronavirus on the cultural industry.
“I’m sad for my city, for the restaurateurs, for the theater shows we’re missing… Montreal is a city of outings, restaurants, theaters and cultural activities. I have the feeling that it is its soul that is affected.”
New songs
Evelyne Brochu plans to stay close to her family in the coming months. She plans to resume her acting career in August. A film project in Quebec is in the air…
On the music side, she hopes to finally be able to present her first album on stage. Entitled Objets perdus, the record released in September 2019 has never been the subject of a show tour because of the filming of Police Paris 1900 and a certain scourge called COVID-19.
In the meantime, she continues to secretly work with her long-time accomplice, songwriter Félix Dyotte, on “things that will come out”.
And every Monday, she appears in Trop, which will conclude in March after three seasons on Radio-Canada.
“It’s rare to see series about friendship, sisterhood… series that celebrate our differences,” observes the actress. “People recognize me through my mask to tell me about it, to tell me they like to watch our show.”
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![A “pop-retro-intello” album for Evelyne Brochu[ Agence QMI , March 15, 2019 ]Evelyne Brochu compares](https://64.media.tumblr.com/d2bfd258c7f00f7a023b4730823801c4/tumblr_poglxjN67l1wrc2y4o1_1280.jpg "A “pop-retro-intello” album for Evelyne Brochu[ Agence QMI , March 15, 2019 ]Evelyne Brochu compares")
A “pop-retro-intello” album for Evelyne Brochu
Evelyne Brochu compares the album project she is working on with Félix Dyotte to the musical collaboration between Beck and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
“I don’t promise it’s that good (laughs), but it’s like being in Felix’s musical universe, tailored to what he sees in me.”
For several months now, the actress has been making us think about this future album, on which we will discover the full extent of her talent as a singer, but the fantasy is about to become concrete: Evelyne Brochu recorded the songs last summer, and we could hear some of them “before the leaves are in the trees,“ she said in an interview with the QMI Agency. The full result will be available by the end of 2019.
The title of the album has been identified, but the artist prefers to keep it secret for the moment. As for the style emanating from it, Evelyne Brochu defines it, in an uncertain tone, as “francophone-pop-retro-intello”, “a little ‘vintage’, but not completely”.
“It’s a mixture of the periods, the 60s, 70s and 80s,” she said. “We can recognize Félix Dyotte, but it’s like his world has been taken somewhere else. I’m very excited, it’s very exciting!”
Friend of the CEGEP
Félix Dyotte, singer-songwriter whose latest album, “Excès de politesses”, was released last fall, and a former member of the Chinatown band, and Evelyne Brochu have known each other since the CEGEP period.
“He’s always been a friend of mine,” said Evelyne. “I used to be a vocalist in one of his ‘bands’, Les Rats Repus. I hated the name of the band; when people asked me what we were called, I replied that it wasn’t important! (laughs)”
While a student at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique, the young woman violated the rules of her school - which prohibited students from working in artistic businesses outside its walls - by sneaking gigs with Les Rats Repus at the Inspecteur Epinle bar on Saint-Hubert Street in Montreal.
Since then, the buddies have never stopped pushing the point together, and when a friend gave them the idea of recording equipment professionally in tandem, they took the concept literally.
“I was in Budapest filming, and Felix sent me a message on Facebook asking me if we were doing it. And I said yes! He wrote me songs. It’s amazing how, sometimes, things that have always existed can suddenly blossom.”
Singing and music have always been part of Evelyne Brochu’s life, for whom chorales and singing lessons have been part of her daily life since childhood. In addition to her collaborations with Félix Dyotte, some of which have ignited social networks, the actress also lent her voice to Stefie Shock’s “12 belles dans la peau”, a compilation in which he reinterpreted Serge Gainsbourg’s repertoire.
“Music is a direct link to the soul,” she observed. “It is the only art for which you don’t need to interrupt your life to enjoy it. Unlike cinema and television, where you have to sit down to watch, or reading, where you have to stop to immerse yourself in the story. The music blends with the memories and belongs to us completely.”
During her pregnancy
Pregnant at the time of the production of her album - baby Laurier is now five months old-, Evelyne Brochu is convinced that her current condition has affected her delivery of the different songs in the studio.
“It certainly changed me as a human being, then it changes the whole human instrument. I was laden with this love, and when I sing to my child, now I see in his eyes that he already has a very powerful relationship with singing and music.”
Evelyne Brochu is in the cast of François Delisle’s film Ca$h Nexu$, which will be screened on March 22. She will shoot the third season of Trop starting May 1st and will also be part of Monia Chokri’s new feature film, La femme de mon frère, which is expected to be released this year.
She also hopes that the French series in which she played the role of a spy, Thanksgiving, recently presented on Arte (and currently available on the web), will be aired in Quebec in the near future.
“I would really like it to be seen here, it’s really good,” she said. “I am making the following appeal: I don’t know who does the ordering work on Club illico and on the specialty channels, but it would be nice if we could see it at home!”
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Interview with Evelyne Brochu
Coup de pouce Magazine, September 2019 | by Joëlle Bergeron
Describing herself as an actress who loves to sing, the talented woman launches her first pop-retro album, produced in collaboration with her friend Félix Dyotte.
Are you comfortable with the singer label?
For me, a singer is Véronique Claveau, Adele; girls who have great voices and can do anything. If I had to compare myself, I would go more towards Jeanne Moreau or Charlotte Gainsbourg. Their strength lies not so much in the vocal power as in the power of the performance. I am humbled by those who have been refining their instrument for years.
On the album, we can clearly recognize the world of Félix Dyotte, who wrote the lyrics, then composed and produced the melodies. What was your creative contribution?
I was part of this creation from beginning to end. There is one of the songs I wrote (7 jours), one that I co-wrote (Escale à Madrid) and I feel like, as Félix knows me well, he composed the other pieces thinking of me, even when I was not there! This album is the result of a long-standing friendship. The DNA from our link is there.
Are you still considering publishing a poetry collection?
It’s in the plans. After that, there are plans and there is time, but it’s already going on. There is a collection of short stories too, which I have been working on for years and which is almost finished… I just have to dare to present it to a publisher.
Season 2 of Trop ends when Isabelle drops everything and goes on a trip. How are we going to find her in season 3?
She comes back more grounded, but a new event will soon destabilize her. It’s going to take about the whole season before she gets back on her X. It is a season of upheavals, but also of affirmation.
This is the last season. Are you the type to get the blues or do you move on quickly?
I have some problems. It was an important project in my life. My sense of belonging is very strong, both humanly and artistically, so I try to live the last moments by enjoying them as much as possible.
The book on her bedside table
Le Lambeau, by Philippe Lançon, one of Charlie Hebdo’s journalists who survived the terrorist attack. It is a story of healing and reconstruction that I loved very much. The author, a great writer, explains how art can save us.
A song she listens to
There’s a song my boyfriend introduced me to lately. It’s Sari d’Orcino of Feu! Chatterton. It’s a great song.
A series she’s watching
I’m not watching anything specific right now. But I must admit I’m a big fan of Fixer Upper, which features a Texas couple renovating old houses. They’re really funny and I love them. So, from time to time, I watch a little Fixer Upper.
The artist on her radar
Philippe Cyr. He is the one who directed the production of Le BrasierandJ’aime Hydro, so I’m very excited to see the rest of his work.
On the agenda
Her album will be released in stores in September. The third season of TROP will be aired this fall on ICI Radio-Canada Télé.
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France opens its doors to her
Evelyne Brochu is shooting in a new Canal+ TV series
Le Journal de Montreal | July 22, 2019
Evelyne Brochu fell into the eyes of the French. Five months after making her mark in Thanksgiving on Arte, she has just won a leading role in Paris Police 1900, a major Canal+ series.
“It’s fun when work leads to work, when one door opens and another opens behind,” observes the Quebec actress, who has a lot to thank the casting director who fought to get her to audition.
Evelyne Brochu (Trop,Café de flore) will feature a courtesan converted into a spy in Paris Police 1900, described as an ambitious 8-episode detective drama, produced by Emmanuel Daucé at Tetra Media Fiction and Fabien Nury at AFPI.
Shooting started
The first under way were made last week in the Paris region. Evelyne Brochu arrived on July 2 to rehearse and try on the period costumes she will wear throughout the six-month shoot.
“It’s never happened to me to have so much preparation time,” says the 35-year-old actress at the other end. “That’s a good sign. It means we want to see things through to the end.”
In very troubled waters
Inspired by real events, the Paris Police 1900 scenario is based on a macabre discovery: that of the body of a young unknown woman found in the Seine. A young inspector (played by Jérémie Laheurte) then launched a criminal investigation that could reveal a heavy state secret. During his search, he will cross paths with the character played by Evelyne Brochu, who is the mistress of the French president.
“It’s always interesting to see heroines sailing in troubled waters and having the strength to get out of it,” she says.
A major production
Directed by Julien Despaux (Black Spot,Profilage),Paris Police 1900 also features Thibault Evrard, Marc Barbe, Christian Hecq, Anne Benoit, Patrick D'Assumçao and Eugénie Derouand. To faithfully reproduce the early 20th century, the services of Anaïs Romand (costume designer) and Pierre Quéfféléan (set designer), both Oscar winners, have been selected.
“It’s a major production,” observes Evelyne Brochu. “It’s expensive to make the times. There are several scenes of crowds, social gatherings, castles…”
Round-trips
Evelyne Brochu, who gave birth to her first child last year, will make a few round trips from Montreal to Paris come January. After each month of shooting on French soil, she will cross the Atlantic again to spend a few weeks in Quebec, in order to refine her first album of songs, which should be released this fall.
And after this blitz of work on two different continents, she will begin the rehearsals of Three Sisters, the adaptation of a play by Chekhov that will be presented at Théâtre du Nouveau-Monde in Montreal in March.
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@mariealabbe : Pas encore revenue de cette journée-là, sorry ♀️ #troplasérie avec mes meilleures. @loulouarchambault@chloerobish@virgfortin@evelyne_brochu
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The serie Trop filmed the final episode on June 29, 2019, in the area in which the author Marie-Andrée Labbé was born and raised.
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Evelyne Brochu behind the scenes of Trop3
