From Mister French Taste:
What do you get when you cross bad table manners, chicken feet, and a liberal dose of “ooh-la-la”? An innovative, cross-cultural comedy series from Jennifer Thym, the award-winning director of “LUMINA” and “Bloodtraffick”, set to debut on Monday, April 30, 2012, on KoldCast TV, the leading international discovery network for original TV series. Set in Hong Kong, “Mister French Taste” follows the antics of an uppity French etiquette coach Mr. French (Olivier Malet) who is hired to wrangle a gentleman out of the naive and unruly Leon Wong (Osric Chau), while both compete for the attentions of the sexy shopaholic Lily Lee (Sarah Lian).
“Mister French” is the brainchild of lead actor Olivier Malet and producer Veronique Girma. “I had seen so many comedies about Americans (eyeroll) and even worse… Englishmen… (shudders) and I thought, why not do a show about a Frenchman? Why not do a show about me?” muses Malet. When asked about his uncanny resemblance to a certain infamous English actor, Malet simply flutters his eyelashes and asks, “Mr. Who? Oh wait, perhaps you speak of the esteemed Mr. Craig. I adore James Bond movies, in fact I live every day like it’s my last. Or did you mean the Englishman with the unfortunate digestive issues – what was his name… Mr. Bean…o?” The pair signed Thym, who brought on writer Arne Venema, and “Mister French” was well on its way.
The show stars hot, young actor Osric Chau as Mr. French’s incorrigible protégé Leon Wong and FHM’s Most Wanted Woman in Malaysia Sarah Lian as the fashion-fixated Lily Lee. “I wanted actors who were fresh and enthusiastic,” says Thym. “Osric is one of the greatest talents in our generation – a truly gifted natural actor. When I saw him in the Roland Emmerich movie ’2012?, the way he could be both innocent and alluring struck a deep chord with me. Although he had predominantly worked on action films up to that point, I felt that he was the right choice to play opposite Olivier in a comedy.” And comedy roles seem to suit him as Chau’s next film is the Halloween high school comedy “Fun Size” starring Nickelodeon’s Victoria Justice and directed by the creator of “The O.C.”, Josh Schwartz.
Thym says that the key to putting together “Mister French Taste” was finding the right balance between slapstick and tongue-in-cheek. “Olivier has a great sense of comic timing and we wanted gifted actors who would be able to improv with him on camera. Everyone knows that Sarah is beautiful, her fans all over Asia agree with that, but what people may not know is that she is smart and has a wonderful sense of humor, and can play it straight to Olivier’s outlandishness.” Lian’s experience with “Mister French Taste” led her to being cast in the upcoming Canadian web show “Millions.”
The first 10-episode season of the series features a disgusting food showdown, an orgasmic French brand experience, and a gorgeous girl-packed one-shot wonder. “Episode 8, which is just a single two-and-a-half minute shot, was so much fun to film. We did about 20 takes to nail it, with our gallant Osric scooping up and getting knocked down by Jane Wong over and over and over. That’s when all his martial arts experience kicked in!” Thym says with a laugh.
“The series has been a dream to bring to life. We feel that the time is ripe for a show that teaches about etiquette in a classy and humorous way,” adds Girma. “Our unique approach to etiquette education is what attracted our brand sponsors, including Shanghai Tang and Tara Moor. And having celebrities appear on the show, like the amazing martial arts star Celina Jade, was a real treat.” Jade, who just wrapped shooting on a kung fu short with two-time Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel, guest stars as cheeky college whiz kid Angie Clarke in Episode 1.
Catch the premiere of “Mister French Taste” on KoldCast TV on Monday, April 30, 2012. New episodes premiere every Monday at 1 AM, PST.