Berlin fest pulls plug on pie pic
The reason: The film depicts Bucquoy throwing a custard pie in the face of Unifrance president Daniel Toscan du Plantier at last year's Cannes Film Festival.
Toscan du Plantier sent a letter Feb. 14 to the pic's sales agent, Jochen Girsch of Bruxelles Avenue, demanding that he stop selling the short, and particularly that he should pull it from Berlin. "This documentary ... shamelessly exploits my name and undermines my status as president of Unifrance Film Intl.," Toscan du Plantier wrote. The letter concluded with a vague threat of legal action.
Girsch ignored the demand, but de Hadeln then reportedly intervened to enforce it. In protest, Bucquoy went to the screening room on Feb. 16 and threw a custard pie in his own face in front of a 20-strong audience, which included a visibly distressed Beki Probst, the market director.
Neither de Hadeln nor Probst could be reached for comment. But sources said the festival felt it had to respect the wishes of Toscan du Plantier at a time of personal distress following the recent murder of his ex-wife.
For years at Cannes, Bucquoy has hurled a custard pie at a leading figure in the Gallic film industry who he believes to be too self-important. His targets have included Jean-Luc Godard, Bernard-Henri Levy and Toscan du Plantier. Word is that de Hadeln has now gone to the top of Bucquoy's hit list for this year's Cannes.
