Writer, actor, journalist and DJ Frederic Beigbeder is one of a new breed of contemporary French writers to challenge norms and stereotypes. His bestseller '99 Francs' has finally been brought to the screen.

Octave, the protagonist of the film, works in an advertising agency. He has it all, money, women, drugs. What's missing is satisfaction.

Octave is tired of being at the epicentre of consumer society and fed up of having to conform to its mediocre standards.

Working on a commercial for a diary products giant, Octave does his best to get fired to escape mundane reality.

Played by Jean Dujardin, Octave bears strong resemblance to Frederic Beigbeder, who once worked with an advertising agency himself and was indeed sacked after his bosses read '99 Francs.'

He's cynical, ambitious and handsome. Author of 'Holiday in a Coma', 'Love Lasts Three Years'and 'Windows On The World',  Beigbeder likes pretty women and Russian vodka – no wonder he's extremely popular in Russia.

Beigbeder says his new book, translated into 'Russian as Ideal', was inspired by numerous trips to Moscow.

“What's happening in Russia is the future of the planet,” believes Beigbeder.

There's a lot of glitz and glamour in '99 Francs', to the point where the film is almost like a commercial.

Its main slogan has also migrated from the book: “Man is a product like any other, with an expiration date. Everything is transitory: love, art, planet earth, you, me – especially me.”

The Moscow beau-monde waited for Beigbeder impatiently but the extravagant author didn't turn up at the party in honour of his film. He's working on a new book in Paris.

“I don’t really decide to write what I write. I don’t wake up one morning and decide I’m going to write about young girls in Russia, it's just that suddenly I have this idea and desire for a story. It’s like a crazy man in an asylum repeating the same things all his life,” describes Beigbeder.

Hundreds of his Russian fans didn't mind those repetitions.

The official Russian Premiere is scheduled for February 14. So hurry up to book the tickets if you wish to spice up your St. Valentines day with a touch of sarcasm!