The Players (2012 film)

The Players
The Players
	Theatrical release poster
French	Les Infidèles
Directed by	Emmanuelle Bercot; Fred Cavayé; Alexandre Courtès; Michel Hazanavicius; Éric Lartigau; Jean Dujardin; Gilles Lellouche; Jan Kounen;
Written by	Jean Dujardin; Gilles Lellouche; Stéphane Joly; Philippe Caverivière; Nicolas Bedos;
Produced by	Jean Dujardin; Marc Dujardin; Éric Hannezo; Guillaume Lacroix;
Starring	Jean Dujardin; Gilles Lellouche; Guillaume Canet; Sandrine Kiberlain; Alexandra Lamy; Mathilda May; Géraldine Nakache; Isabelle Nanty; Manu Payet; Clara Ponsot;
Cinematography	Guillaume Schiffman
Edited by	Anny Danché
Music by	Evgueni Galperine; Sacha Galperine;
Production; companies	JD Prod; Black Dynamite Films; Mars Films; M6 Films; Cool Industrie;
Distributed by	Mars Distribution
Release date	29 February 2012 (France);
Running time	109 minutes
Country	France
Language	French
Budget	$13.8 million
Box office	$24.6 million

The Players (French: Les Infidèles, lit. 'The Unfaithful Ones') is a 2012 French sex comedy anthology film starring Jean Dujardin and Gilles Lellouche, with each of them also directing and writing a segment.

Plot

Series of vignettes about the theme of male infidelity and its adulterous variants.^[1]

Cast

Jean Dujardin as Fred / Olivier / François / Laurent / James
Gilles Lellouche as Greg / Nicolas / Bernard / Antoine / Eric
Lionel Abelanski as the director
Guillaume Canet as Thibault
Charles Gérard as Richard
Sandrine Kiberlain as Marie-Christine
Dolly Golden as the mistress
Éric de Montalier [fr] as the emergency doctor
Katia Lewkowicz [fr] as Maxime's mother
Alexandra Lamy as Lisa
Éric Massot [fr] as the waiter
Mathilda May as Ariane
Géraldine Nakache as Stéphanie
Isabelle Nanty as Christine
Maëva Pasquali [fr] as Nathalie
Manu Payet as Simon
Clara Ponsot as Inès
Hélène Seuzaret as Isabelle, Éric's wife
Anthony Sonigo [fr] as Benjamin
Anne Suarez [fr] as Julie
Bastien Bouillon as Valentin

Controversy

The promotional posters for the film, on which Jean Dujardin and Gilles Lellouche are seen in suggestive positions (like gripping a pair of naked female legs), attracted accusations of sexism.^[1]^[5] The French professional authority of regulation for advertising received four official complaints accusing the posters of sexism. Following this controversy, the posters were taken down, and the distributor apologized.^[6]

Dujardin refers to I mostri by Dino Risi.

The original cut of the film included a scene where a man talks to a woman while a plane crashes into the World Trade Center. Reportedly, this scene has been censored to have better chances to get an Academy Award for Dujardin (who went on to win the Best Actor award for his leading role in The Artist).^[7]

Remake

An Italian remake of the same name was released in 2020.

Notes

^ Jan Kounen's segment "Ultimate Fucking" was cut from the theatrical release of the film; it is available in the extended version on home video.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e McNicoll, Tracy (29 February 2012). "Jean Dujardin, Oscar-Winner for 'The Artist,' Debuts New Sex Comedy". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
^ Grelet, François (23 January 2017). "Retour sur le sketch de Jan Kounen coupé des Infidèles". Première (in French). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
^ "Les Infidèles (The Players) (2012)". JPBox-Office (in French).
^ "The Players (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
^ Chrisafis, Angelique (2 February 2012). "Jean Dujardin poster controversy could ruin The Artist star's Oscar hopes". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
^ Gregg, Kilday; Leffler, Rebecca (3 February 2012). "Jean Dujardin's Racy Movie Poster Controversy 'Is Over,' Says 'Artist' Producer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
^ "Les Infidèles, la scène coupée qui a évité un scandale américain à Jean Dujardin". L'Express (in French). 1 March 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2021.

External links

The Players at IMDb
The Players at AllMovie

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[3] Jan Kounen's segment "Ultimate Fucking" was cut from the theatrical release of the film; it is available in the extended version on home video.^[2]

[dbs11-1] McNicoll, Tracy (29 February 2012). "Jean Dujardin, Oscar-Winner for 'The Artist,' Debuts New Sex Comedy". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2 April 2023.

[2] Grelet, François (23 January 2017). "Retour sur le sketch de Jan Kounen coupé des Infidèles". Première (in French). Retrieved 2 April 2023.

[4] "Les Infidèles (The Players) (2012)". JPBox-Office (in French).

[5] "The Players (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2 April 2023.

[6] Chrisafis, Angelique (2 February 2012). "Jean Dujardin poster controversy could ruin The Artist star's Oscar hopes". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 February 2012.

[7] Gregg, Kilday; Leffler, Rebecca (3 February 2012). "Jean Dujardin's Racy Movie Poster Controversy 'Is Over,' Says 'Artist' Producer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 April 2023.

[8] "Les Infidèles, la scène coupée qui a évité un scandale américain à Jean Dujardin". L'Express (in French). 1 March 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2021.

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