The “News of the Class” is a writing competition launched within the framework of the Livre sur la Place. The CM1-CM2 classes must collectively imagine the continuation of a short story, the beginning of which was written by a writer who won the Grand Prix du Roman de l’Académie française. The classes must also create a portmanteau and its illustration from two words taken from the incipit of the writers. This year, the students were inspired by the first words proposed by two winners of the Grand Prix du Roman de l’Académie française, Amélie Nothomb and Camille Pascal. The first prize was awarded to Franck Leprivey’s CM2 students from Mouzimpré school, Essey-lès-Nancy.
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156 tries
“Oh, oh” I cried to myself in Spanish with a little English accent.
Cut! No, no, no, and no, express yourself! Feeling, emotion, come on, start again!
Action !
– Oh oh ! I repeated in Italian with a German accent.
– There is not enough intensity, I remind you that you play the main character, come on, we do it again!
– Oh, oh, I repeated in Chinese with a Wolof accent.
– No that’s not it !
– Oh, oh, I growled in Russian with a little Arabic accent.
– Recommence !
– Oh, oh, I sighed in Thai with a strong Peruvian accent.
– No ! It does not go!
“Oh, oh,” I exclaimed in Mexican with a beautiful West Indian accent.
– NON !
– Oh, oh, I stammered in Swedish with a Marseilles accent.
– Whatever !
– Oh oh ! I screamed in mourning with a Japanese accent that could be cut with a knife. “
But each time, the answer was the same. The director then tried other shots, to obtain the desired effect; he went from the wide shot to the American shot, then moved closer and closer to the very close up. The cameras were moving on the set: tracking shots in all directions. Fixed cameras and steadicams also immortalized the key scene; repeated zooms, fields, reverse shots, but nothing was right. The tension was terrible in the studio. Eventually, the exhausted director fired everyone: makeup artists, cameramen, set designers, actors, sound engineers, extras, voice actors, stunt performers, editors and assistants.
“There is something wrong there, we go back immediately. He summoned the writers, writers, dialogue writers and translators. They worked all night.
The next morning, on the set, looking satisfied and mischievous, the director grabs his megaphone:
“Santa Claus is multilingual, scene IV… 157th… Action! “
“OH, OH, OH” I cried to myself in Spanish with a little English accent…
“There, that’s exactly it! Next scene! “
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