Assane diop, a charming and talented Parisian thief plots to steal a diamond necklace that was being auctioned at the Louvre. It was once worn by Marie Antoinette and is now known as the Queens Necklace. Diop secures a job as a maintenance worker to help him get familiar with the museum's security system. Three obstreperous loan-sharking members convince him to rob the real thing while he creates a second identity. He intends to attend the auction dressed as a tech mogul and bid higher than anyone else for the necklace.Bloomberg Businessweek, July 5, 20,21. Subscribe now Photographer: Djeneba Aduayom, Bloomberg Businessweek; Grooming by Barbara Guillaume/Forward ArtistsInevitably, the heist goes wrong. They double-cross Diop but he had always intended to hoodwink them. He allows his accomplices to take a fake necklace and run into the arms the gendarmes. Diop places the genuine item in a trashbasket and later returns it empty in his janitorial disguise. You wouldn't know it! It is still there. Diop places it in a bag and he walks past the guards of the museums into the Parisian night.Omar Sy, a French movie star who plays Diop in the film, was captivated by the final twist after he had read the script. Sy recalls that he thought it was truly punk. It was cool to just have the Queens Necklace in your trash bag.Lupin premiered in January and was viewed by 76 million households within its first four weeks. It is now the second most successful original Netflix series, behind Bridgerton. It returned to Netflix on June 11, with five new episodes. Diop employs everything from wardrobe changes and martial arts mastery in order to escape his enemies as they approach him. Although the reviews for Lupin Part 2 were positive, critics warn viewers not to think too much about the show. A third installment is in the works.Lupin, like many heist films and TV shows, requires a willful suspension. The audience is enticed by Sy's chic Parisian sets and haute production. Sy is a presence that makes even the most bizarre moments worth watching. Ludovic Bernard, who directed two episodes of Lupin, said that Sy's smile allows him to get away with murder.Lupin arrived just as Netflix Inc was about to launch. It added 37 million subscribers last year as the pandemic swept the globe. This brought its total to 204 millions. The company announced in April that it had only added 4 million subscribers in the first quarter 2021, which is 2 million less than its projections. After-hours trading on Netflix fell 11% that day. However, Netflix still had something that it could use to divert investors' attention: a hit series from France.Sy as Diop disguised as a Janitor in the Louvre. Somethings are up. Photographer: Emmanuel Guimier/NetflixThe creation of Lupin started many years ago when executives from Gaumont SA, France's largest television and film producers, asked Sy a question that every actor dreams about one day answering: Are there any characters he would be interested in playing or films he could make?Sy was a French box-office hit. Hed was awarded the Csar Award for his role as Intouchables' hoodlum-turned-caregiver in Intouchables 2011. He forges an unlikely friendship and support for a wealthy White quadriplegic who is looking for some help. It was later remade in America as The Upside with Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart. Sy was so well-known in France, he moved with his family to Los Angeles in 2012. He wanted to provide anonymity for his five children. He was offered supporting roles on American franchises such as X-Men Days of Future Past (2014) and Jurassic World in the subsequent years. Gaumonts request for roles indicated that he was still looking for big roles in France.Sy knew the answer to Gaumont's question was clear: He wanted to be Arsne Lupin. This top-hatted thief was created by Maurice Leblanc, a belle epoque mystery writer, to appeal to Sherlock Holmes fans. Lupin was a gallic Robin Hood, who loved to relieve the rich of their wealth. He was a master at disguise and even claimed to be the chief inspector investigating his own crimes in one story. Contrary to Sherlock Holmes stories that have some ground in reality, the Arsne Lupin stories actually burlesques. Otto Penzler is the owner of the Mysterious Bookshop, New York, and an editor of over 70 such anthologies. They are parodies of crime and mystery fiction.No matter what parodies you may prefer, Leblancs books have been loved by generations of French youth and are still a favorite. Sy loved the opportunity to portray a sophisticated action movie character. He would have preferred James Bond if he was English. He would have settled for Lupin as a Frenchman.According to Stanley Kubrick (director), this selection of great heist movies was made by the creators of Lupin. George Kay, Lupin's showrunner, cites this story about a group of hoodlums who rob an auto track as one of his influences. Noirer-than-noir auteurs are credited with helping to define the genres' tropes. They include the mastermind who has one last task to complete, the seemingly impossible plan and the accomplices whose conflicts threaten to unravel the scheme. Source: Everett CollectionGaumont had already begun developing a show about the new Leblancs hero, which was serendipitous. It was a well-trod ground: In France, there had been a TV series in the 1970s about Lupin and a Lupin film in 2004 with supernatural elements. Films about heist are often remade more frequently than films of other genres. You can think of 2001's Oceans Eleven, which starred Frank Sinatra in the first version. 2003's The Italian Job, which was adapted from a British 1969 film and starring Michael Caine.Sy was signed up to be the star and executive producer. He wasn't happy with the draft scripts. Netflix hired George Kay to be the showrunner. Kay, a British veteran TV writer who had previously worked on Criminal (a police procedural simultaneously made in France, Germany and Spain), didn't feel any emotional attachment to the Lupin. Kay states that she is originally from England and wanted to do something new.A protagonist with a criminal record is essential for any heist movie. This is Rule No. Kays interpretation of the Lupin character fulfilled Rule No. 1 of the genre. He suggested a show about Assane diop, who is, like Sy, of West African descent. Leblanc's creation is the inspiration for Diop, but it is not his work. Diop is a master at hiding his identity and sneaking into fortified buildings.Alexander Mackendrick is the director of The Ladykillers (1955). Kay claims that the post-World War II comedy of England's Ealing Studios helped him create the jovial tone for the Netflix series. This episode, with Alec Guinness as the lead and Peter Sellers as the co-stars, is about a group of bank robbers who are confused by their elderly landlady. He says it's all about finding the right type of wit. Photo by PA Images/Getty ImagesHowever, Diop often uses his race to reach the top of White France society. Who would think that a lowly immigrant Janitor, let alone a tech support man or hotel food service worker, could be a heist master? Lupin's protagonist routinely exploits such casual bigotry for his own advantage. Kay says that this theme became a main theme of the show-the invisibility and inequalities of certain people in society. Sy, however, views Lupin more as a comment on class prejudice than racism. The actor claims they are one and the same disease.Rule no. Rule 2: The audience must relate to the chief criminal. Kay created Sys' smoothness as a lawbreaker by making Sys a father. Sys lives with Claire, his ex-girlfriend and Diops mother. Claire and Diop have a warm relationship. However, he often tries to be patient with her when his clandestine activities lead him to neglect his fatherly duties.Claire keeps hearing Diop tell her he's going to change. Sy insists that his character means it. The actor admits that he is trying very hard. It's almost impossible but it is something he wants to do. Sagnier, however, is skeptical. According to my experience as an actress, when a man promises a woman that he will change, it is almost always true. Claire must be aware.Guy Ritchie is the director of Snatch (2000, Guy Ritchie). This film about the aftermath of a diamond theft set a new standard in modern crime films. It was well-paced. It is gratuitously violent, hilarious, and stunningly stylish all at once. Ludovic Bernard, who directed Lupin Part 2, says that the film is perfect, perfect, perfect right from A to Zed. Screen Gems/Everett Collection. Photo by Ludovic Bernard.Both were right. Diop is a modern version of the heist protagonist. He's a good man who believes that he can get legit after he does one more job. Kay claims that Diop is not an angel. He says that we like his inability to be reliable, and the mixed good and bad. We want him to continue failing at his good intentions so that we can have the adventures that come with them.Rule no. Rule No. 3: Heists cannot be solely about the money. The recently paroled Danny Ocean (played by George Clooney) concocts simultaneous robberies at three Las Vegas casinos. He is likely to be behind bars again if anything goes wrong. Julia Roberts plays Tess, his ex-wife.Diop is also doing it for the greater good. He is seeking revenge on his father, Babakar Diop. (Or did he? After being wrongly accused by a Parisian businessman of theft as part of a plot. The plot involves insurance fraud, the Queens Necklace and a false confession. It's all part of a conspiracy. Kay fulfilled this genre requirement by giving Diop an incentive that transcends financial gain, no matter how convoluted it was.Oceans Eleven (2001), Steven Soderbergh. Bernard pays homage to the remake of a classic 1960 Rat Pack film. The film's remake doesn't simply copy the original, it exceeds it with an excellent cast, hypnotic cinematography and a reimagined screenplay. Even though I love the original, it's so classy. Bernard says so.Rule No. Rule No. 4: Heists must be difficult enough to make the audience cheer for their success. However, unlike a heist film, which usually revolves around one caper, the Netflix era required some retrofitting. Sy and Kay both agreed that there should be at most one heist in every episode of Lupin. Sometimes, more. To not offend Lupin fans, the scenes are often based on Leblancs books. Kay however also borrowed from classic heist films that were his favorite (sidebar).The Team Heist at Louvre is the finale, with Diops and his hapless companions smashing their getaway car into a street-level Skylight and entering the museum. A Jailbreak Heist is a second episode in which Diop steals prison by swapping places in the visitation area with another West African inmate and then fakes his death. Sys' character pulls a Crook Posing As a Cop Heist to persuade a elderly woman to trust him with her diamonds. She laughs about how he bought them for nothing from poor people in the Belgian Congo. Kay says that you want to vary the scale of your twists and the type of canvas that you are using. After you have completed the Louvre, sometimes it is a little crime that you would like to commit.Rule no. Rule No. 5: Heist perpetrators should rely on their brains and not their sidearms in order to complete the task. Sy said that this was the only thing he insists on with regard to his characters' escapades. The actor said that we want him to be a gentleman-thief. We need to be clear about this. Guns are not allowed. No violence. No fighting. Diop can pound his antagonists with a Bond-worthy punch when he is backed into a corner as he is often in the new episodes.This leaves Rule No. Rule No. 6is the most important. The heist must be spun out of control in order to deliver the necessary character development and thrills. Kay calls this the "heist within the Heist" and says that the challenge is getting the audience to follow along. Kay says that we all know the heist. It is what we all want. We kind of feel guilty about it falling for the wrong thing every time. How entertaining can it be?Kay is then attacked by Diops henchmen at the Louvre. He is also threatened by drug-dealing prisoners who want to collect a payment that he incurred as a result of his break into prison. However, these obstacles are integral to Diops' success. This is the beauty of a heist within an heist. Kay states that it must go wrong before it can go right.Lupin was first filmed in late 2019 and then stopped due to Covid. The pandemic was a good example of the reliable heist trope, where a caper goes wrong but ends well. Paris was quiet by summer, after Gaumont had been able to return to Lupin. Cast and crew had full control of the town. Sagnier states that we had the right to travel anywhere. We were truly lucky.Before Lupin, Sy was a dependable box-office draw in France. Photographer: Djeneba Adubayom, Bloomberg Businessweek. Grooming by Barbara Guillaume/Forward ArtistsPeople around the globe were also looking for entertainment. This was good news for streaming services like Netflix. They had many new shows thanks to pre-pandemic production. Some of these shows set viewership records. The Queens Gambit, a story about a young lady's unlikely rise to chess stardom was watched by 62,000,000 households within four weeks of its October premiere. Bridgerton, which focuses on the struggles of racially diverse Aristocrats in an alternate version of London in the early 19th century, was also shown in December. It drew 82 millions viewers in the same time period.Netflix began to feel the effects of the slowdown in global production early this year. The company wrote to shareholders in April that it did not have enough shows to keep subscribers signing up at the anticipated rate. Industry observers concurred. According to Michael Nathanson, senior research analyst at MoffettNathanson LLC and Bloomberg News, there was nothing to be concerned about this quarter.It's almost nothing. Netflix had Lupin. Although it didn't quite match Bridgerton numbers, it was close. This was particularly impressive, as Lupin was a French-language program, unlike Bridgerton or The Queens Gambit which were both in English. It was the first show to be included in the top 10 streaming shows in the United States. This is just one more proof that great stories travel all over, according to Damien Couvreur (director of original French series on Netflix).Netflix also pointed out that Lupin, just like The Queens Gambit drove sales of chess sets in France, spurred sales in French-speaking countries of Lupin books. American book buyers were also interested. According to Penzler, the Mysterious Bookshops Penzler, we have sold so many copies.Netflix's best asset was Lupin's success, which allowed the company to shine a bright light on its April earnings call. It had been marred by bad news and a few misfortunes. The pandemic-fueled growth was slowing down, Netflix's leaders admitted. They pointed out Lupin as a validation of their strategy to develop shows that would not only be successful in their own countries but also make a splash worldwide. Greg Peters, chief operating officer of Netflix, stated that Lupin, a French series, was the most popular in this quarter. The show was not a watered down French series. It was very French. Peters was basically saying that Netflix's global dominance scheme was working and not to pay attention to short-term stumbles. Arsne Lupin may have said Pas mal.Next: African Superhero Sema aims to inspire children worldwide
