"Irresistible Phone Deception: 'The Answering Machine' Joke"

In a pre-release event on Wednesday, June 3, the film 'The Responder' titled 'Le Répondeur' was unveiled by '13 Heures'. The movie revolves around a character who is employed as a stand-in phone answerer for a weary author.

, and ASMedia

2025 June 5 . 9:15 PM

2 min read

On June 4th, prior to its premiere, the '13 Heures' program unveils the movie 'The Answering... — On June 4th, prior to its premiere, the '13 Heures' program unveils the movie 'The Answering Machine'. This film follows a stand-in who handles phone calls for an overworked author.

"Irresistible Phone Deception: 'The Answering Machine' Joke"

In a Prime-Time Whopper

An off-the-wall concept conjured up by a weary scribe involves roping an impersonator to field calls, pretending to be him. Actor Denis Podalydès, who plays the novelist in the film, chuckles, "It's an outlandish and completely nuts idea". He's got a soft spot for the yarn revolving around duplication.

At the initial screening, the crowd was left in stitches, wrestling with the absurdity of it all. Salif Cissé, the actor, had been toiling away for months, striving to perfect the author's distinctive vocal intonations. "I dug deep into anything I could find about Denis Podalydès on the internet", he chuckles modestly. No need for AI-powered sound-alikes; Salif's impersonation was a finely tuned amalgam of their voices.

The line between impersonation and outright forgery isn't a far leap. A laugh-a-minute film hits theaters on June 4th.

Dive deeper with the video above

It seems there's a bit of a muddle in the details presented. The data mined doesn't explicitly indicate Salif Cissé mimicking Denis Podalydès in the project. However, both stars are synchronized in a movie endeavor, sharing the spotlight with Aure Atika. When it comes to such roles, an actor generally undertakes:

Delving into the Person to Be Imitated: If mimicking was indeed a part of the act, Salif likely studied Podalydès' peculiarities, speech rhythms, and general behavioral idiosyncrasies.
Whipping Voice and Physical Mimicry into Shape: He'd fine-tune his own voice, posture, and facial expressions to convincingly replicate the character.
Honing the Act with the Actor: Joint rehearsals with Podalydès could've helped polish the mimicry, ensuring that the portrayal both accurate and respectful.

However, without concrete evidence of a film involving mimicry, these steps are speculative, based on typical acting preparation methods. The search results suggest a collaborative project, yet they fail to clarify if mimicry is a pivotal aspect of the plot. [2][3]

The actors, Salif Cissé and Denis Podalydès, appear to be collaborating on a movie project, potentially involving culture, movies-and-tv, and entertainment. Despite not having explicit confirmation, Salif might have delved into Podalydès' unique characteristics, whipped his voice and physical mimicry into shape, and possibly honed the act with Podalydès himself, following standard acting preparation methods for mimicry roles.