After playing the original masked Avengers in Cesar winners, Smash hits "The Earl of Monte Cristo", Pierre Niney as a charming superstar coach in "Guru", Yann Gozlan's gripping psychological thriller will be introduced to buyers this week's Cannes Market.

Gozlan introduced his latest film, Dalloway, at this year's Cannes Film Festival, and he dropped out of school with Niney for the third time, following Gozlan's two most successful films, A Ideal Man and The Black Box.

Niney is in the "Master" opposite Marion Barbeau, Anthony Bajon and Holt McCallany. Niney, along with the headline “Guru,” also co-produced the film through his banner of ninety movies, as well as Wassim Beji of Wy Productions Lead Producting. StudioCanal will release the film in France on January 28 to handle international sales.

Before the Cannes Film Festival, Nini and type Regarding his idea, he made a long time ago a film about famous and dangerous coaches and developed the project with Gozlan and co-author Jean-Baptiste Delafon ("Money and Blood", "The Bureau") who turned it into a high voltage paranoid thriller inspired by films like "Magnolia and Antiighcrawler." Nini also shares his ambitions for contemporary French films and his upcoming “parallel story” in Asghar Farhadi.

Where does this idea for a thriller about a famous coach come from?

This project has sprouted in my mind for a long time. The initial idea was to explore the ability to inflate crowds with words and put people in a tr-like state and willing or unwilling to control. Yann and I also talked about a movie with Jake Gyllenhaal ("Night Crawler" movie, and even more about modern voyeurism, we really like the weird obsession you can bring to such a character. The weird thing is that while coaches are everywhere right now, especially on social media, everyone is a source of advice and it's easy to tag coaches, there are no such movies in the United States, so we're happy with the uniqueness of the subject.

What makes Yann Gozlan the ideal filmmaker to solve this project?

Obviously, I talked to Yann about this idea because to me he is one of the most interesting directors today, and even globally, I would say that they have a big tendency to paranoids when it comes to thrillers and personality studies. I know this might be really good. So I brought him this theme, just this idea, this character, a broad outline. Then he completely invented the movie. He immediately went to see Jean-Baptiste Delafon, who wrote "D'Argent et de Sang" and "Le le bureaus Légendes". Yann Gozlan lived in, even possessed by his theme, which is a very high quality. He is a person with a very strong sense of imagery. He is very meticulous and very precise in what he wants in the movie. He has a wide understanding of cinemas, so every time we have lunch together I learn something new, I have a new movie to watch, I realize there are a million things I don't know. He is a big Hitchcock fan. I really like Hitchcock’s movies, so I do have a lot in common.

How did you prepare for your character?

I think it has taken root. I thought of "Mulan", "Wolf of Wall Street", and I thought of Paul Dano "will be in blood". All these characters I think of, their words may awaken dangerous animals in others. It is indeed the double-edged sword of word power and the ambiguity of these coaching intentions. They actually achieve good or manipulate people’s holdings about themselves by playing the desire that everyone has a validated desire. All of these topics have been in my mind for a long time. Then, I just had enough of a real coach. We are getting more and more in France and obviously loading in the US. Now they are accessible on social media or via video. Their podcasts should be inspiring. And then, of course, there is another very important part of the film workshop, which is when they perform. This is the moment when they make a lot of money and then for those who are trapped in a tr-like state, it's a real catharsis.

Have you found a thin line between the cult leader and the coach?

This is obviously one of the themes of the movie. I think it is difficult for the authorities, especially the French authorities, to assess when sectarian behavior will begin. The term “sect” covers a rather broad field, because in reality, religion may soon fall under the definition of a sect. So, in fact, we are interested in asking ourselves: how dangerous Matthieu Vasseur is, his name is the same as "Un Homme Idéal" and "Boite Noire". I like this mythical choice that can almost retain the same character name.

Are you not good at coaching experience?

I used coaching while preparing for the movie, but it was a limited period and it was never ready. They are sports coaches, diet coaches…but it never gets out of control. I think I have a pretty solid educational foundation in this regard, and so consciously or unconsciously, I have to distance myself from these people. But they exist, and this toxicity exists in many people and many ways. On the other hand, there are stories that people are completely trapped in action. Only one person is the one who really does this to many people or groups. Obviously, when I was preparing for this movie, I read all the stories I could find. Interestingly, sometimes it comes through very official channels, i.e. the company that brings in coaches, kind of like a manager. In the company, they come to coach for 10 days and attract employees. I discovered a totally crazy story about two coaches who came to a company and six months later, they still haven't left. A year later, they took over the company. They dispatch staff. So, within a year, they managed to brainwash everyone in the company and take control of the business. There are many stories like this, which are very interesting, which helps shape the character of Mathieu Vasseur.

How do you describe Mathieu Vasseur? Is he a sociopath?

What we are interested in the character is that he is a person who truly believes in what he is doing. He is very, very good at it. We see this in the first scene: He really moved his story. What matters to us is that he is not a cynical person. Mathieu Vasseur is a coach who believes in his job. In my opinion, this is a fascinating theme for cinemas. We try to bring a lot of nuance and ambiguity to this character.

Is this movie about toxic masculinity or toxic positivity?

We're really talking about power, verification and the decline into hell, which is probably due to the concentration of so much desire, so much power, and paranoia, because I think it's a very interesting ingredient in Yann Gozlan in general.

"Guru," "The Earl of Montecristo"... You have been appearing in several ambitious films lately. Do you get the impression that France is making bigger, bolder movies today?

A few years ago we knew how to make these big movies, and now we’re going to be back to them somehow. I think, naturally, with all the options outside of theatre (mainly on streaming platforms), we do need to find good reasons to tell people: "Come to the cinema, it's worth it!" It's not a trivial thing for people to go to the cinema, plan for the evening or afternoon, organize yourself and pay for the movie. I think the movie has to be truly original. This doesn't necessarily mean a big movie. It can be a small movie, but it has a strong vision. But then again, "Guru" is a film that doesn't cost much, and in a sense we're lucky to have the budget required for the story we need to tell, but it's not like "The Earl of Montecristo."

Next, you will star in the French film Asghar Farhadi. Are you looking forward to it?

Asghar Farhadi is an incredible director and it's really great and, most importantly, if I had to do it myself, I don't think I would hesitate to choose Virginie Fira, Isabelle Hupert, Vincent Cassel and Catherine Deneuve. Indeed, it’s rare in the life of an actor when everything is blended together, and when you get it, it’s like the Holy Trinity: a great director with a great script and a great actor.

Are you interested in working in the United States?

I keep saying, “I love France.” Whenever someone asks me, “Do you want to go to the United States to shoot?” I say, “Of course, there are some incredible artists, if good projects come up,” and there are some channels. But I was so happy and spoiled that I was truly proud of it. You can go back to 150 years and there are always great artists in French cinemas. We are lucky, especially when you look at other European countries where the film industry often strives to grow. We have a great and unique film culture in the world. I don't think this is a coincidence. It started long ago when American actors and directors came to France to work with Jacques Audiard, Claire Denis and many others, and I think it was a pivotal moment for French cinemas, at least in the perspective of continuing to start with "the anatomy of autumn," "matter", "matter" and many other films. We often compare ourselves to the United States, as if we were the younger brothers of American movies, as if we were trying to do it, but I simply disagree with that view. I've watched French movies since I was a kid. From Audiard to Alain Chabat, including movies with Alain Delon and Jean Marais.