‘Anatomy of a Fall’s Messi the Dog Is Getting His Own TV Show

The French film Anatomy of a Fall received five nominations at the Academy Awards, but it was another aspect of the film that has kept everyone talking about it: Messi, the Border Collie who starred in Anatomy of a Fall. Messi’s performance was highly lauded as one of the best animal roles ever put on-screen, and now the four-legged actor is going in front of the camera again. Messi will star in his own television show set at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, IndieWire reported. It seems that this year’s installment of the iconic festival will truly be a dog-eat-dog world.

Messi’s show will be set at the festival, fitting as Messi himself was born in France and lives with his handler near Paris. The show will actually be a short program that allows viewers to see themselves through the eyes and, somehow, the voice of Messi, according to Cannes production company D18 Paris. Details remain slim, but the show will reportedly run from dawn to late night and “will be an opportunity for Messi to ask his guest any questions with the innocence of a dog,” D18 said. “When you’re the current international star, you can do anything… and Messi dares to do it all!” the production company added.

The show, which is officially called Messi: The Cannes Film Festival from a Dog’s Eye View, will be a series of eight one-minute episodes and will be broadcast on a variety of French TV channels. The idea for the show came from Tim Newman, who will produce the show for D18, while Loïc Pourageaux will direct. Raphaël Mezrahi will provide Messi’s voice.

Messi Has Become a Huge Canine Star

Anatomy of a Fall featured standout performances from Sandra Hüller and Milo Machado-Graner, but Messi became a superstar in own right when the film was released in 2023. Messi portrayed Snoop, and he stole the film during a scene in which he must act as a dog that has overdosed on aspirin, before Sandra (Hüller) and Daniel (Machado-Graner) step in and perform life-saving measures. Though he may be just a dog, Messi’s performance got everyone in Hollywood talking, and while the film itself became an Academy Award nominee, Messi won a special prize himself: the 2023 Palm Dog, given out by Cannes to the best dog performance of the year.

Messi became such a star that he even attended the Oscars for a brief period, despite initial reports that he wouldn’t make an appearance. The dog filmed a series of reaction shots prior to the start of the ceremony, and Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel even mentioned Messi’s popularity during his opening monologue. A clip of Messi appearing to “clap” for other nominees also went viral.

Messi’s show will run for the duration of Cannes, from May 13 to May 25. Anatomy of a Fall is streaming now on Hulu.

Anatomy of a Fall

A woman is suspected of her husband’s murder, and their blind son faces a moral dilemma as the sole witness.

Release Date

August 23, 2023

Director

Justine Triet

Cast

Sandra Hüller , Swann Arlaud , Antoine Reinartz , Samuel Theis

Watch on Hulu