Blogosphere Multiplex: Ron L'Infirmier

Once a week I'm grilling a random blogger about their own film experience. These aren't necessarily film bloggers, just bloggers of note. This week's victim is Ron from Ron l'infirmier and this interview is trans-Atlantic. He is a famous Parisian blogger.


I discovered Ron's site while curious about blog traffic from that "She's a Bitch" video a few months ago. I perused his blog --OK, I oggled the plentiful eye candy and then ogled some more because my French is very high school broken. For those who do read French there's plenty to keep you entertained. He rose to Gallic blogging reknown posting addictive stories about life as a nurse and the medical care profession (anonymously of course...), pop culture musings, and personal stories about he and his boyfriend who he calls "La Marmotte."

The Boyfriend (mine I mean) once lived in Rennes and so I got him on the case and he translated this interview for me. Merci mon cher. He was giggling away reading Ron's blog and told me that if I needed an American comparison it's sort of, in tone if not content, a French The Search for Love in Manhattan.

10 Questions with Ron

Nathaniel: We begin against my will with Harry Potter. You take your blogging name "Ron" from the character of Ron Weasley. Which is your favorite of the Potter adaptations and why?

Ron: I prefer the first film which perfectly caught the ambience of the first book. Sugary, Christmas-scented, I associate his vision with my winters spent in Switzerland with mulled wine and gingerbread.

Nathaniel: How often are you found in movie theaters?

Ron: I have an unlimited cinema card. For 19 euros a month I can see as many films as I want. So I'd say I see between 6 and 10 a month.

Nathaniel: Good man. I wish we had unlimited cards here. You mention on your blog that Francis Ford Coppola is your favorite auteur. Are you excited for his new film Youth Without Youth ?

Ron: I haven't heard anything about this film, apart from its title, so that I can attend the first screening as a complete virgin. I don't want to know anything about it! My favorite Coppola film is Peggy Sue Got Married, closely followed by Godfather II. The first few minutes at Lake Tahoe with Nino Rota's music are among the most beautiful in cinema.

Nathaniel: Any thoughts about his daughter Sofia or her films? Booed at Cannes last week for Marie-Antoinette.

Ron: Sofia deeply annoys me. I've never managed to watch Virgin Suicides all the way through. Lost in Translation bugged the shit out of me. Miraculously, I liked Marie-Antoinette, but that's surely related to the subject and the fact that it resonates with me as a Frenchman.

Nathaniel: Can't wait to see that one. What's the strangest thing that ever happened to you at a movie theater?

Ron:A bomb threat one day in Bordeaux. A guy dropped a gym bag and left the room running. A mental case. Everyone was terrorized!

Nathaniel: Yikes. Let's move on. You claim you "kiss like a god" on your blog. To prove it which movie star would you select as your scene partner?

Ron: Who would I choose? A woman? Mary Steenburgen. A man? Paul Newman, aged 35. Heard he was a bit small for me. Does not matter.

Nathaniel: One of the reasons your blog got famous in France is the inside peak at nursing. Are there any movies that you think paint an accurate or at least an interesting picture of your profession?

Ron:Not a single one. Never have seen anything close to reality. Carol Hathaway, in ER, maybe, in some scenes, very short sequences --sometimes. Representations of male nurses are full of clichés, representations of nurses are full of crap (just think Daryl Hannah in Kill Bill and you'll find the perfect example)

Nathaniel: Does your boyfriend "La Marmotte" share your film tastes?

Ron: No. But I'm the boss.

Nathaniel: Ha ha. Here's something that's always fascinated me. France has more international movie stars than any country outside of the US --Auteuil, Deneuve. Huppert, Tatou, Saviginier, Devos, Bonnaire, Binoche, Béart, etc... What's the secret? Is their a movie star birthing factory, a trade school? Explain!

Ron: Ah - good question! No secret, no technique, just one obvious fact: In France the cinema is still an art, made by magicians who thumb their noses at money. We love actors for the quality of their work, not for their box office success. That tends to change, of course. Another reason is that here unemployment benefits can be very generous for out-of-work actors... A lot of people live off the system and there are therefore a lot of new faces.

Nathaniel: Last question Ron. They make a movie of your life. Who would play you? What's the title? What's the rating?

Ron: The film of my life? Clement Sibony for my role. Stéphane Rideau for La Marmotte. The title, "Je n'attendais que toi" (I was waiting only for you). The rating?

[Ron opted for a tagline instead -ed] "Too many rose-colored sentiments, but some excellent lines. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll love it or you'll hate it. You cannot remain indifferent"

Voilà.

Nathaniel: Merci beaucoup to Ron l'Infirmier for participation in this "blogosphere multiplex" interview.

New Reader? If this is your first time here please check the rest of the blog or some of the film experience's greatest hits: A History of ... Jodie Foster * "She's a Bitch" Music Video * Top Actress of the Aughts * A History of Gyllenhaal * 2005 Film Bitch Awards *

Previously at the Blogosphere Multiplex: Thomas & Co.
* If there's any hot blogger you'd love to see interviewed, let me know. I'll try to rope them in.