Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Le Didier!

Didier Noirot, Corinne Lelong Chevallier, Tom Crowley and the BAD boyz - click for detail!

We're currently hosting a shoot for the BBC, and it's loads of fun.
It's not our usual fare, i.e. intrepid Fijians cavorting with heaps of very large predatory Sharks but rather something very specific and totally unique which I'm not at liberty to reveal. But, it still requires working in close proximity to the beasts, and when Tom Crowley from the Natural History Unit asked whether it was OK to bring along rebreathers, our answer was, certainly, but make sure that the shooter is absolutely shark proof.

The name he came up with was Didier Noirot.

Did you check out the link?
The man is just simply ridiculously infamous, and this not only for having been a member of the équipe Cousteau (e.g., he's the guy who shot the Sipadan Turtle cave sequence that propelled the site to global fame) but more recently, for being the go-to guy for hot shoots with a reputation for being absolutely fearless all the way to having been the first to shoot Nile Crocodiles in the Okawango.
Here is the trailer to his multi-awarded Into the Dragon's Lair  that documents that epic feat - simply ridiculous stuff!



Is that awesome, or what!
But with that in mind, I must confess that we've been looking forward to meeting Didier with much trepidation. The combination of world famous and French! can result in some rather epically megalomaniac characters, and we were frankly bracing ourselves for the worst.

But boy were we wrong!
Turns out that on top of being the ultimate consummate professional, the man could not have been more affable, funny and genuinely personable (=great interview!) - truly an unadulterated pleasure to work with, and a real honor to boot!
And this very much extends to his partner in crime, the equally ridiculously intrepid Corinne (it was she who had the rather questionable honor of lighting up the crocs, and this sans the protection of the mega-housing!) who doubles as rebreather buddy and light engineer. Suffice to say that even Rusi is deeply impressed, to the point that after one day, we've all resolved to let the great man go ahead and do his thing without the hassle of pole-toting body guards - which would very much be a first!

Anyway, I just wanted to say that we're really having one hell of a time.
Can't wait to see the finished product!

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