'The Emperor of Paris' trivia and fun facts
filming change
Richet and his team wanted to shoot in Prague, due to lower cost and because its streets look very familiar with Pari's streets. In the end, the producers decided to shoot in France, in Ile-de-France.
Vincent Cassel, historian
Vincent Cassel hasnt only played Vidocq as an historial character, he has also playe the artist Paul Gauguin in 'Voyage de Tahiti' in 2017; Austrian doctor Otto Gross in 'A Dangerous Method', en 2011; The french gangster Jacques Mesrine in 'Mesrine: The Instinct of Death' in 2008 and the serial killer and lord Gilles de Rais in the Luc Besson's adaptation of 'Joan of Arc' in 1999.
True events
The story of François Vidocq is based on true events. He is a very relevant figure in the french culture, even though he is not well-known outside the country.
Incredible locations
Scenes have been filmed on the "La Base", the old air force base 217 located near Brétigny-sur-Orge and Plessis-Pâté in Essone. Production is also installed in the castles of Vaux-lee-Vicomte and Fontainebleau in Seine et Marne.
Two birds with one stone
The movie premiered November 3, 2018 in the Arras Film Festival, being Arras Vidocq's hometown. Vincent Cassel visited the town and the municipality of Arras inaugurated a street "Eugène-François Vidocq", whose plaque was unveiled by the actor.
Dumas
Behind the creative process of 'The Emperor of Paris', the director Jean-Franchois Richet added that he took in count a lot of the novels written by Alexandre Dumas.
The Vidocq myth
Some of the films that have told the story of Eugène-François Vidocq are: 'Vidocq' (1911, silent), 'Vidocq' from Gérard Bourgeois (1939), 'Scandal in Paris' (1946) directed by Douglas Sirk and a lot more.