Messi “will go” to the 2024 Oscars: the French dog who appears in a nominated film and bears the name of the number 10

Messi He was the “least cute” of his litter. When she chose him, Laura, she didn’t know that eight years later that dog would “compete” at the 2024 Oscars. Much less that Argentina would play in a world final against France, her country of origin.

Laura Martino Contini I wanted a pet and had heard that a lady on the outskirts of Paris had some great dogs. A mutual contact facilitated a meeting and it was from that meeting that Messi entered his life. He chose him because he was the smallest; the black sheep of the group.

Thus “Messi is a dog”, the famous story by Hernán Casciari, became reality. And before you know why Messi is called Lionel Messi, Let’s review some curious facts that Laura told Clarín in a warm remote interview.

Messi at the 2024 Oscars

To understand Messi’s great work we need to talk about it a little Anatomy of a fallthe film he stars in.

The almost 8-year-old border collie is one of the big stars of a film released in Argentine cinemas on Thursday and which last year won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (for his extraordinary performance, Messi took the Palm Dogalternative prize awarded by the Cannes Film Festival to the dogs that stood out in its selection).

At the Oscars on March 10th Messi and his teammates will compete in 5 categoriesincluding that of Best film.

Starting February 11, he and Laura will spend a week in Los Angeles taking photos and attending press conferences. “We will shine,” the 37-year-old coach tells Clarín.

The acting dog who dazzled the world

In Anatomy of a Fall, a writer goes on trial after her husband’s mysterious death in the French Alps. The protagonist is accused of murder, but justice has difficulty establishing whether she is the murderer or whether she took her own life. The couple had a common son, Samuel (Milo Machado Graner) and the dog Snoop (Messi).

-How did the dog get along with the actors?

The whole team was great with the dog, both the technician and the actors. With Milo, the little actor, we worked a lot. We saw each other a lot before filming and worked during filming. And Milo took very, very good care of Messi. He was part of the team as a human being.

-How was the experience of working with Justine Triet, the only director nominated for the 2024 Oscar?

Justine Triet has many ideas. It’s a bit… how should I put it? A little “crazy” in her ideas. And she’s super nice, very nice. She can do very, very interesting things. She knows what she wants; She knows in which direction she is going. And she is really very human and very open.

-What is the most difficult scene Messi had to do?

-There were two that were difficult. The poisoning sequence, when he was sick and took the medicine. It took a long time to film. And also the beginning of the film, where there is a very long shot, a sequence shot, where Messi goes through the agitation of the police… They were rather long sequences, an afternoon of filming, and therefore quite difficult. But we got through it just fine.

-What do you think his ability is linked to? Is it something that comes with him or does he train 100%?

-I had Messi when he was a child and I started working with him before making films with animals. I’ve worked with people who had dogs. She was a coach. It was with him that I learned everything. We learned everything together. He also has great skills and we work a lot together. He is almost 8 years old, so he has a lot of work left. He taught me and I taught him too.

There were 22 intense days of filming in which Triet was extremely satisfied with Messi’s work. The dog was treated like another character, the French director acknowledged.

Name as 10

The explanation for why Messi is called Messi doesn’t have as much to do with football as you might imagine. Laura gave him that name when the Argentine ten had not yet won the World Cup or played for Paris Saint Germain. She went the other way..

-Why is your dog called Messi?

In France we have become accustomed to the fact that when we get a purebred dog, a letter is assigned to the animal’s name every year. And the year Messi was born is the year of M. And my children love Messi, the footballer, and they asked me to call him Messi. So, attributing it a bit to the footballer, it was called that.

-Was there an impact on your French knowledge due to the dog’s name, taking into account what happened at the World Cup between the Argentine and French national teams?

-I saw some articles talking about Messi the player and Messi my dog, that both had good performances and that they were similar, so I think it’s really cool. It is reserved for intelligence. The performances, the intelligence, both are very strong in both.

-Are there any Argentinians in your family?

-No, we are French, my mother is Italian but otherwise we are French.

-And what will Messi’s next job be?

He has already shot commercials in France. And after the film he had another role in a French series in which he plays the dead man. Finally they cut his throat. The series is called Against You.

-Was it easier to shoot that scene or the one from Anatomy of a Fall?

-The anatomy of a fall was much more difficult. It was much more advanced, much more work. It was long, but beautiful. He knows how to deal with the issue of death. It was easier.

To finish the speech, Laura was encouraged to confess that her pet is also a great footballer and this He would like both Messis to meet face to face at some point. “We are waiting for the meeting in Argentina with Messi, the footballer.”

Until Hulk, the old dog Messi, gets jealous, everything is possible…