Michel Audiard

Raised by adoptive working-class parents in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, Audiard was an avid cyclist and pharmacy delivery boy who devoured classical literature. In 1949, he began writing screenplays, developing an unmistakable ear for Parisian slang, caustic cynicism, and poetic insolence.

Audiard wrote dialogue for over 100 films starring Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura, and Jean-Paul Belmondo. His lines from Les Tontons Flingueurs ('Les cons ça ose tout, c'est même à ça qu'on les reconnaît') and Un taxi pour Tobrouk became national proverbs, earning him two César Awards and the reverence of generations.