Louis 19, King of the Airwaves | |
Native Name: | |
Director: | Michel Poulette |
Music: | Jean-Marie Benoît |
Cinematography: | Daniel Jobin |
Editing: | Denis Papillon |
Distributor: | Malofilm |
Runtime: | 95 minutes |
Country: | Canada |
Language: | French |
Gross: | C$1.8 million (Canada)[1] |
Louis 19, King of the Airwaves (French: '''Louis 19, le roi des ondes''') is a Canadian comedy film, released in April 1994.[2]
The film stars Martin Drainville as Louis Jobin, a television fanatic who wins a contest to be on television. Unbeknownst to him, however, his prize is to become a reality show: he is followed around by a cameraman 24 hours a day for three months, and when his life doesn't make for compelling viewing, the show's producers decide to manipulate his life to make the show more exciting.[3]
The film was directed by Michel Poulette, and written by Poulette, Sylvie Bouchard, Michel Michaud and Émile Gaudreault. It won the Golden Reel Award as the year's top-grossing film in Canada.
The film opened on 34 screens in Quebec on April 1, 1994.[4]
The film grossed $194,732 in its opening weekend[4] It went on to win the Golden Reel Award for the year's top-grossing film in Canada,[5] even though it was only released in Quebec, with a gross of C$1.8 million.[1]
The film won the Claude Jutra Award for the best feature film by a first-time Canadian film director.[6] It was also a nominee for Best Motion Picture,[7] but lost to Exotica.
The 1999 American film EDtv was an adaptation of Louis 19.[8]