Ronny Coutteure

Joosse

New member
I never knew this, and it makes me sad to read about it now.

Perhaps, like many great actors and comedians, Coutteure was clinically depressed?

It is indeed a great loss.
 

fommes

Member
Just for the sake of accuracy, it isn't "Werwik" but "Wervik" (unless there's some small town Werwik which I've never heard of).

Also, he wasn't known in the Flemish part of Belgium, so probably only in France and Wallonie.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
I wasn't aware of Ronny Coutteure before I watched the Young Indy series, and I'm not aware of anything else he was in before or after. Which is really the sad part, he was destined to be in Indy's shadow, and in his career didn't find the international success that his talent promised.

Learning the manner of his death will certainly make re-watching the series a different experience.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Ronny Coutteure Interview Translated ? Page 1 of 4

Didn't know if I should post this here or in the thread: Ronny Coutteure. The exact same topic but this one has more meat. Maybe they can be merged?

Giving a BIG thanks to Raider.net staff member, Sakis,:hat: who generously posted his scans of a rare interview from a French magazine in the “Digital Versions” thread, I’ve started translating them into English for all to read. (I don’t know the name of the magazine but this is the interview where the late Ronny Coutteure revealed that Remy was supposed to die in an unproduced episode!:dead:)

Since Indy news is rather slow these days, the pages will be posted one at a time over the next while. Enjoy...

french2_1.jpg


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Ronny Coutteure - The Friend of an Adventurer

Born in Belgium close to the French border, Ronny Coutteure turned up in France with his family in the 1960s. He began his career with different, small roles and became known in France thanks to programs such as “Merci Bernard” and “Palace”. But the first film which revealed him to the public was “Mimi Trip”, where he shared the starring bill with Agnès Soral. In 1992, Ronny Coutteure’s career took a new turn. He was contacted to play the role of Remy Baudoin in the series “Adventures of Young Indiana Jones” which can be seen, in France, on Channel Jimmy and TFI.

Here, Ronny Coutteure portrays an old Belgian sailor who becomes a companion on Indy’s adventures starting with the first episode. It’s a high-coloured character, very lively, someone who loves women and who often pushes Indy to have fun. But it’s equally someone who groans all the time and who always ends up doing that which is asked of him.

Ronny Coutteure gave us the pleasure of granting his time during his last pass through Paris in order to talk to us about the exceptional adventure he lived over three years.

-What was your first reaction to reading the script?

Right away I compared Remy Baudoin to Captain Haddock because just like him, I had quite a lot of swear words to say.

-Do you have an anecdote from filming the first season of the series?

The filming which was supposed to be done by 15 February 1992, didn’t finally stop until the 15 March, delayed for the most part by a boat accident in Africa. Furthermore, they added an episode: the one from Africa December 1916 January 1917 which at the start was only supposed to be one but they managed to make it longer.

-What type of sensation is experienced in a production of such a wide span?

We catch ourselves shooting a film series like one would dream of doing when one was a child. I used to go the cinema a lot in my youth, I had a real passion for Sergio Leone’s first films. And it’s evident that, when I found myself in Almeria in the south of Spain shooting the Mexican episode with western villages like those used by Sergio Leone, for me it was the film within the film. That will remain a marvelous experience. In Africa, I felt the same thing when we crossed the jungle with columns of 300 people.

-What did you think of the means implemented to shoot the series?

George Lucas used all the technical means at his disposal so that television viewers will have the impression of seeing on the small screen a cinematographic film and not an episode from a television series. It’s truly exciting to take part in this adventure, but on the other hand it’s also very physical, and very testing, we did numerous hours. They have the art of discovering places and landscapes which have never been seen and that sometimes obligated us to shoot in places that are not always easy to access.

To be continued…
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Thanks for the translation, Stoo. A lot easier to read than struggling through with my school French.

I love the reference he made to Captain Haddock!
 

Bahari

New member
Now that i can finally write myself in this forum, and not just guest-read it (Kinda like a spy ;) ), I have to say well done translating that article Stoo! I can't wait for the other parts!

Remy is one of my favorite characters!

God bless you Ronny Coutteure!
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Montana Smith said:
Thanks for the translation, Stoo. A lot easier to read than struggling through with my school French.

I love the reference he made to Captain Haddock!
Looks like Ronny Coutteure grew up reading Tintin comics. Being born in Belgium, there's no surprise there! (Speaking of easier to read, I'm going to request higher res scans from Sakis. Some of the words are difficult to read and it's killing my eyes!:eek:)
Bahari said:
Now that i can finally write myself in this forum, and not just guest-read it (Kinda like a spy ;) ),
This thread has received over 80 hits in less than 2 days so I figured someone other than Montana Smith must be reading it.:p Glad you enjoyed it, Bahari, and welcome to The Raven...where the whip-cracking never stops!:whip:

Part 2 coming up...
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Stoo said:
(Speaking of easier to read, I'm going to request higher res scans from Sakis. Some of the words are difficult to read and it's killing my eyes!:eek:)

That point did cross my mind!

(Is it the mileage or just the years?) ;)

Stoo said:
(Part 2 coming up...

Get squinting, cos we're waiting! :hat:
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Ronny Coutteure Interview Translated ? Page 2 of 4

french2_3.jpg



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-Were there many differences in the filming from those which you participated in before?

Most of the sequences were shot with 3 or 4 cameras. In one day if we shot sequences with dialogue without much action we could change scenery up to 3 times, which is truly rare in France. When war scenes were acted out that could take up to 2 days of filming. On the average it was one scene per hour with 4 cameras that is to say that, in the end, the director found himself with 4 shots for editing.

-What was it like to shoot in English on a production of this scale?

I did some dubbings in London for certain scenes where there were accent problems or some noise. I had a lot of trouble to acknowledge because I am by advantage a French comedy actor. But, that is the shining years of ?Merci Bernard?. This time, it was bombs that I took rather than cream pies.

-The friendship that exists between Indy and Remy in the series, did it continue off-camera between Sean Patrick Flanery and yourself?

Yes, completely. I got along very well with Patrick. This is a guy who is a very hard worker, very serious in his job. His selection was very tough. We were a bit timid the two of us at the start but, over the course of time, we learned to appreciate each other. Now, we?re completely friends which is very nice because I have most of my scenes with him. The technical crew, who are for the most part English, were also very sympathetic.

-What did it feel like to find yourself among the French when you filmed the Verdun 1916 episode with director René Manzor?

That made a little mafia, because we talked to ourselves in French when most of the people in the crew spoke nothing but English.

-Tell us about your first day of shooting.

That was terrible, it was the first time in my life that I performed in English. The stories in the series puts you in quite complicated situations and, when you?re right in the middle of Africa with a hundred extras, you tell yourself that it will be good that the line of text is said without a problem. Despite of that, when a mistake is made, everyone stays very calm. It was also there where they were extraordinary, if things goes badly, they always stay polite and courteous; there is no yelling, not one word louder than the other, which I?ve rarely seen on French shoots.

-What was your relation like with George Lucas the first time you met him?

There?s a French agent to whom I must pay homage, Frédéric Muidon*, who contacted me on the 1st of May 1991. Faced with the number of shooting days which were announced to me as it went along, I quickly realized that it was a relatively important role. So I left immediately for London to audition. There, I was welcomed by the director Carl Schultz who made me play my scene with Patrick and was giving me the lines. He, Patrick, it had already been 3 months since he was there to learn, to mount a horse, to drive a car, etc? Rick McCallum as well since the English caster Lucy Boulting was happy enough with the audition. Good, it still wasn?t won because there were other actors taking a shot but I was very enthusiastic and before I was informed, they took my measurements to make the costume, knowing that filming started on the 9th of June. Strangely, up until that day, they hadn?t yet found an actor for the role of Remy. They made me wait awhile then George Lucas came toward me and shook my hand, told me that all was going well and that he was satisfied. And that is how the adventure started for me.

-Are you familiar with George Lucas? work?

Yes, of course, I really like Indiana Jones and I have seen the ?Star Wars? films. But the man surprised me because I didn?t imagine him like that. At times he was simple and easy to talk to. If you didn?t know him, you wouldn?t know that it was him on the set. The first day of shooting he came to see me. He shook my hand and said to me ?Thank you very much?. There you have it, that is George Lucas.

*Not sure of the spelling of the last name as it?s hard to read with a low resolution print.

Page 3 on deck?:D
 

T.E.Lawrence

New member
Stoo said:
---snip----

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-The friendship that exists between Indy and Remy in the series, did it continue off-camera between Sean Patrick Flanery and yourself?

Yes, completely. I got along very well with Patrick. This is a guy who is a very hard worker, very serious in his job. His selection was very tough. We were a bit timid the two of us at the start but, over the course of time, we learned to appreciate each other. Now, we?re completely friends which is very nice because I have most of my scenes with him. The technical crew, who are for the most part English, were also very sympathetic.

Thank you Stoo so much for this contribution. I simply adore the part where Ronny is talking about his friendship with Sean off-camera.
 

Bahari

New member
T.E.Lawrence said:
Thank you Stoo so much for this contribution. I simply adore the part where Ronny is talking about his friendship with Sean off-camera.

I agree!
It's very nice to know that they were friends off camera as well.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Montana Smith said:
Get squinting, cos we're waiting! :hat:
Good news! Sakis was kind enough to send me high-res versions of the pages so no more squinting!:D What a relief. A big "sas efharisto" to him!:hat:

As I suspected, the name of Ronny's agent was Frédéric Moidon (and not Muidon). Will correct it when I send Sakis the complete text.
T.E.Lawrence said:
Thank you Stoo so much for this contribution. I simply adore the part where Ronny is talking about his friendship with Sean off-camera.
What I find interesting is that he keep referring to Patrick so I guess SPF goes by his middle name (like everyone in my family).
Rocket Surgeon said:
This is the kind of stuff you should comment on for the Indy Cast! I have to echo: Thanks!:hat:
You're very welcome and I may do just that.;) Page 3 on deck...
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Ronny Coutteure Interview Translated ? Page 3 of 4

@Sakis: Which magazine is this from? What is the date?:confused:

It's truly a shame that Ronny Coutteure committed suicide. Here are more of his words from this RARE interview that will help keep his spirit alive...

french2_3.jpg


-How did you approach the character with George Lucas?

I knew that they had established a type-cast, that is to say that it was ?the right man in the right place? so I never talked about my character with George Lucas. We didn?t have a fundamental discussion about the characters like we generally do in France. They told us: ?The character is you?, and then it?s up to us, the actors, to reflect and to give the best of ourselves. You know, us French are very Cartesian, so we need some direction. It is true sometimes from one episode to another, my character is terribly different since it was written by different authors. But fortunately there is a certain coherence in the consistency of the stories. The character can sometimes be more serious or more funny, sometimes more modest, sometimes more ?hedonistic?. But it?s my internal cookery.

-At the same time it?s a testing role?

Yes and no. People often put a proper behaviour upon me. But thanks to the film Mini Trip* things have evolved a little. They did not have a priority. Nevertheless it was necessary that I learned to mount a horse. That was all new. But after time passed as it went along, I realized that the character wasn?t too far from my own personal self. It?s simply an aspect of me that I maybe never had the chance to develop. It?s true that I?ve been given nice characters. It?s true that one?s self can overtake. As I?m not a very physical actor but rather someone who is calm in day-to-day life, it was then necessary that I took it upon myself to exceed physically. You know I have never made an adventure film before and so to achieve its stunts suitably was a little scary and then after, this became a childish pleasure, it?s very enjoyable. Luckily I?m not doing big stunts.

-What is your typical day on the set?

We get up at 5 o?clock in the morning, generally we need to be ready to film around 6:30-7:00. We start with the exteriors and, when the light goes down at the end of the day, we then do all the interior scenes. The day normally finishes at 8 PM but sometimes it happens that we film until 9 PM or even 10 PM. The days are long and difficult.

-Are you going to return to the theatre?

Theatre pleases me very much, I will never stop. It?s contact with the public.

-Can you tell us about filming in Kenya?

We went back there with a boat, luckily there was nobody hurt, more fear than harm; the comical side if you wish, is that there were crocodiles not too far away and the problem was to know if they were going to arrive before or after first-aid. That was memorable, but if not, we were super protected. In Kenya we had armed guys with us.

In Nairobi, we took a plane for 1 hour and a half, we landed in a meadow, then we took a 4x4 for 2 hours and arrived at a riverside where we took a canoe for 1 hour. So there weren?t many curious spectators. The capital was 4 hrs. 30mins. from there. We left the camp at 5:30 AM to be able to start filming at 6:00. To go from the camp right to the set, 30 minutes by boat was necessary, the river was the only possible way. The food took 3 days to arrive. The showers, they were buckets. We stayed 17 days. After, we were happy to return to Nairobi which seemed ultra civilised, with our colonial hotel from the beginning of the century (the North Folk Hotel**) where we were magnificently lodged very well.

-I believe that you filmed for Lucasfilm Ltd more recently.

Yes, we did the third season which is composed of 4 Television Movies (1hr. 30mins.). For me, this happened essentially in Thailand on the Isle of Phuket, in China, in New Guinea, lastly Singapore. All these fantastic and Asian countries. These are episodes with a lot of adventure. At the end of June, I?m going to film the last ?additional scenes? which are going to allow to entirely repeat the series but by episodes of one hour and a half instead of 45 mins. What was funny was to film the ends of scenes which came from episodes shot 3 years ago. We filmed in a London suburb where they re-assembled loads of distinct scenery, trains, etc?

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*Correction: Also on Page 1...it's ?Mini Trip? (and not ?Mimi Trip?):eek: Thanks again to Sakis for providing the original & higher-res scans!:hat:
** Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi
 
Cheers once again, this is great reading!:hat:

Once you finish you should add some back ground :)up: )and maybe why he did himself in...(n)
 

Stoo

Well-known member
You're very welcome, Rocket, but the reason for why he took his own life is unknown.:( (As for your 'back ground' suggestion, I'm confused.:confused:)
 
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