Jump, Michel!

Shooting of Luc Besson's "Michel Vaillant", 24 Hours of Le Mans 2002.

Jump, Michel!

Behind the scenes snapshot taken during the making of the film Michel Vaillant. After having driven a stint at over 250 km an hour at Le Mans, a driver is supposed to be pouring sweat. So, before filming a sequence where he has to take off his helmet, Sagamore Stévenin’s coach gets his young comedian to jump rope for several minutes in the sun, wearing his race suit, balaclava and helmet. This allows the actors to get a whiff, but just a tiny one, of what a driver really goes through during a race.