Prince Albert stars in Racing Film alongside Charles Leclerc

HSH Prince Albert and Charles Leclerc are both starring in a new film directed by Claude Lelouch.  The film shoot took place on Sunday morning at the Place du Casino.  The short film will be called “Le Grand Rendez-Vous” as a nod to the 1976 film “C’était un Rendez-Vous” by the same director.

In the film, Prince Albert is meant to be filming the champion driver with his smartphone after “high fiving” Charles Leclerc with his elbow (a safe way to greet someone during the pandemic).  In reality, director Claude Lelouch filmed the Monegasque driver for the shoot. He told a French news source that it was a great thrill to ride in the passenger’s seat as the car reached 200 km/h.

Replacing Monaco’s Grand Prix

This year’s Monaco F1 Grand Prix was cancelled due to COVID-19, but fans of the legendary event will be getting a consolation prize in film form. Fans will get their racing fix when they see star driver, Charles Leclerc, reach breakneck speeds along the streets of the Principality.  For the shoot, Charles Leclerc was behind the wheel of a Ferrari SF90 Stradale and made 15 laps of the legendary Formula 1 circuit between 7 and 9 am. 

Claude Lelouch’s “C’était un Rendez-Vous” portrays an eight-minute drive through Paris during the early hours of a summer morning, accompanied by the sounds of a revving engine and squealing tires. Well-known landmarks, such as the Champs-Élysées, are passed, red lights are ignored and one-way streets are driven up the wrong way.  Shot in a single take, the 1976 film is an exciting example of cinéma-vérité.

“Le Grand Rendez-Vous” is scheduled to air on 13 June on Canal +.