Behind The Lens With Eric Catelan

World Class Steadicam Operator Eric Catelan

It’s interesting how movie aficionados can rattle off the names of movie stars and directors and even some producers occasionally. But ask them who shot the film and they are dumbfounded. By shot, we mean just that: who operated the camera? Now, the cinematographer runs the lighting and camera crew and he or she decides what lenses, etc. to use on which camera. But the camera operator and Steadicam operators, in addition to heading the camera department, have significant responsibility in how shots and scenes are ultimately captured and seen on screen.   

 

With this fact in mind, there is one such Steadicam Operator and Camera Operator whose work deserves to be recognized: Eric Catelan is a French camera operator who is known worldwide as one of the most reputable and certainly one of the most knowledgeable Steadicam operators in the business. He has worked his magic on scores of movies including, The Da Vinci Code, The World Is Yours, Irreversible, The Statement, 8, Blueberry, L’Empereur De Paris, Le Monde Est A Toi, Kiss Of The Dragon, Mesrine and Coco & Igor, to name only a few of his many films.

 

One of his most recent projects was The World Is Yours, starring Vincent Cassel and directed by Romain Gavras. Eric Catelan was camera operator and Steadicam operator for the acclaimed feature-length comedy gangster film, which was selected to screen in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it received high praise for all involved. Variety Magazine called it a “Crowd-pleasing Tarantino-esque saga,” and went on to say, “And judging by the uproarious reception the film received at its Directors’ Fortnight premiere in Cannes, they’re (the French) grateful to have a cocky, talky, high-attitude crime saga for themselves.”

 

Likewise, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that “The World Is Yours is a French gangster comedy that zips along with all the bright, bouncy energy of a live-action Looney Tunes cartoon.” It goes on to say that Gavras’ “signature visual flair is evident in almost every frame of his glossy second feature, which premiered as part of the Directors' Fortnight section at Cannes.” Summing up on the film’s inevitable commercial success, The Hollywood Reporter concluded that, “If we can extrapolate anything from the blockbuster lines, rammed screenings and riotous applause that greeted its Cannes launch, The World Is Yours should do healthy business when it opens domestically in August.” 

 

With such high praise for a well-received and obviously well done movie, Eric Catelan is deserving of significant praise and recognition for his camera work.