Oscar frontrunner “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” won a leading five races at the Annie Awards on Feb. 25, including Best Studio Animated Feature over three of its Oscar rivals — “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” “The Sea Beast” and “Turning Red” — plus “Wendell & Wild.” The fifth Oscar contender, “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” won Best Independent Feature nominees over “Charlotte,” “Inu-Oh,” “Little Nicholas” and “My Father’s Dragon.”
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” went five for nine with wins also for director, character work, production design and original score. “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” won three of its four bids including writing and voice acting (Jenny Slate). And “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” went two for six with wins for editorial and storyboarding.
Two of the five Oscar nominees for Best Animated Short also featured at these awards. Frontrunner “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” won...
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” went five for nine with wins also for director, character work, production design and original score. “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” won three of its four bids including writing and voice acting (Jenny Slate). And “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” went two for six with wins for editorial and storyboarding.
Two of the five Oscar nominees for Best Animated Short also featured at these awards. Frontrunner “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” won...
- 2/26/2023
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Refresh for latest… The 50th anniversary Annie Awards for animation are being handed tonight at UCLA’s Royce Hall, and Deadline is updating the winners live as they are announced in all 32 categories. See the list below.
Two very different stop-motion films lead the way in nominations from Asifa-Hollywood: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio from Netflix and A24’s Marcel the Shell with Shoes On drew up nine and eight noms, respectively, with Disney/Pixar’s Turning Red next with seven.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio took the first film award of the night, for Best Production Design, Feature.
Pinocchio and Turning Red will face off in the marquee Best Feature race against DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Netflix;s The Sea Beast and Wendell & Wild. Macel the Shell is vying for Best Indie Feature against Charlotte; Inu-Oh; Little Nicholas, Happy As Can Be; and My Father’s Dragon.
Two very different stop-motion films lead the way in nominations from Asifa-Hollywood: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio from Netflix and A24’s Marcel the Shell with Shoes On drew up nine and eight noms, respectively, with Disney/Pixar’s Turning Red next with seven.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio took the first film award of the night, for Best Production Design, Feature.
Pinocchio and Turning Red will face off in the marquee Best Feature race against DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Netflix;s The Sea Beast and Wendell & Wild. Macel the Shell is vying for Best Indie Feature against Charlotte; Inu-Oh; Little Nicholas, Happy As Can Be; and My Father’s Dragon.
- 2/26/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Team Experience is discussing the various Oscar categories. Here's Abe Friedtanzer and Juan Carlos Ojano.
Abe: It's always a pleasure to talk awards with you, and I'm excited to dive in to the Animated Feature race this year. While I wish that we could have been discussing out-of-the-box choices like Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, Eternal Spring, or Little Nicholas, Happy as Can Be or even mainstream fare that for some reason didn't click like Lightyear and The Bad Guys, there are five worthwhile nominees that did make the cut. I know that I had to seek out The Sea Beast once nominations were announced since I hadn't yet streamed that title, while the other four didn't come as much of a surprise. Going into this race, it feels like Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio is the clear favorite. But it didn't net any other Oscar nominations, which many thought it would.
Abe: It's always a pleasure to talk awards with you, and I'm excited to dive in to the Animated Feature race this year. While I wish that we could have been discussing out-of-the-box choices like Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, Eternal Spring, or Little Nicholas, Happy as Can Be or even mainstream fare that for some reason didn't click like Lightyear and The Bad Guys, there are five worthwhile nominees that did make the cut. I know that I had to seek out The Sea Beast once nominations were announced since I hadn't yet streamed that title, while the other four didn't come as much of a surprise. Going into this race, it feels like Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio is the clear favorite. But it didn't net any other Oscar nominations, which many thought it would.
- 2/22/2023
- by Juan Carlos Ojano
- FilmExperience
There’s an air of positivity among Italian film professionals as they head to the Venice Film Festival this year, in spite of the country’s depressed theatrical box office in the wake of Covid and a looming cost of living crisis across Europe.
The optimistic mood is driven in large part by recent state-backed support for the country’s audiovisual sector, which is increasingly regarded as a pole for future economic growth and employment
Under the country’s post-pandemic economic recovery plan, put in place by the former unity government of Mario Draghi, 300m has been set aside for investment in the sector for the period running 2021 to 2026.
Following the fall of Draghi’s government over the summer, a general election will take place on September 25. Whatever the outcome, the potential successors are being urged to maintain the recovery plan and cinema spending is not expected to be impacted.
The optimistic mood is driven in large part by recent state-backed support for the country’s audiovisual sector, which is increasingly regarded as a pole for future economic growth and employment
Under the country’s post-pandemic economic recovery plan, put in place by the former unity government of Mario Draghi, 300m has been set aside for investment in the sector for the period running 2021 to 2026.
Following the fall of Draghi’s government over the summer, a general election will take place on September 25. Whatever the outcome, the potential successors are being urged to maintain the recovery plan and cinema spending is not expected to be impacted.
- 8/31/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Paris-based sales company Charades has closed a raft of deals on “Forever Young,” Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s film which competed at Cannes and earned a warm critical welcome.
“Forever Young” opens at the end of the 1980s in Paris and follows a young troupe of comedians who have just have been admitted to Les Amandiers, the prestigious theater school headed by Patrice Chéreau. Bruni Tedeschi wrote the script alongside Agnès De Sacy and regular collaborator Noémie Lvovsky. “Forever Young” stars Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Sofiane Bennacer and Louis Garrel, among others.
The movie was acquired Filmin (Spain), Kismet (Australia), Belas Artes (Brazil) Lev (Israel), Cineart (Benelux), Panda (Austria), Weird Wave (Greece), Leopardo Filmes (Portugal), Cinemanse (Finland), Triart (Sweden), Megacom (Adriatics), Russian World Vision (Russia) and Skeye (Airlines).
“Forever Young” will be distributed by Lucky Red in Italy and Ad Vitam in France. Charades is in talks to close Germany. It’s produced by Ad Vitam,...
“Forever Young” opens at the end of the 1980s in Paris and follows a young troupe of comedians who have just have been admitted to Les Amandiers, the prestigious theater school headed by Patrice Chéreau. Bruni Tedeschi wrote the script alongside Agnès De Sacy and regular collaborator Noémie Lvovsky. “Forever Young” stars Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Sofiane Bennacer and Louis Garrel, among others.
The movie was acquired Filmin (Spain), Kismet (Australia), Belas Artes (Brazil) Lev (Israel), Cineart (Benelux), Panda (Austria), Weird Wave (Greece), Leopardo Filmes (Portugal), Cinemanse (Finland), Triart (Sweden), Megacom (Adriatics), Russian World Vision (Russia) and Skeye (Airlines).
“Forever Young” will be distributed by Lucky Red in Italy and Ad Vitam in France. Charades is in talks to close Germany. It’s produced by Ad Vitam,...
- 6/3/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
This delightful family-friendly animation blends tales of Little Nicholas - a sort of French equivalent of the likes of Just William or The Perishers - with the biography of his creator René Goscinny (voiced by Alain Chabat) and Jean-Jacques Sempé (Laurent Lafitte at the mic). Goscinny is the more internationally famous of the two, having also co-created Asterix and Obelix, who are nicely referenced, but here the focus is on the bond between him and Sempé, which though it weakened down the years lasted until Goscinny's untimely death from a heart attack at just 51.
The dialogue between the fictional life of Nicholas and the lives of his creators is achieved by having Nicholas (voiced by Simon Faliu) step off the page to engage in conversation with the two men as they first begin to create his family and friends before moving on to a series of tales, including -...
The dialogue between the fictional life of Nicholas and the lives of his creators is achieved by having Nicholas (voiced by Simon Faliu) step off the page to engage in conversation with the two men as they first begin to create his family and friends before moving on to a series of tales, including -...
- 5/30/2022
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Michel Fessler, co-writer of “Little Nicholas,” selected at Cannes this year as a special screening, has boarded Ravi K. Chandran’s “Tamara” as scriptwriter.
Based on a story by Paris-based playwright and actor Vasanth Selvam (“Dheepan”), the film will follow 26-year-old Indian origin woman Tamara from Camargue in the south of France, who seeks her roots in the southern Indian territory Pondicherry, which was once a French colony. In parallel narratives, the film will trace the emotional turmoil of Tamara and two other women.
The film is fully financed and being produced by Indian companies Sithara Entertainments (“Bheemla Nayak”), Pawan Kalyan Creative Works (“Sardaar Gabbar Singh”) and Fortune Four Cinemas (“Sir”). Producers include Trivikram Srinivas, Nagavamsi S., and Sai Soujanya.
It is co-produced by Samir Sarkar for Singapore and India based Magic Hour Films (Rotterdam titles “Nasir” and “Jonaki”).
The agreement with Fessler was negotiated at the Cannes Film Market by Chandran and Sarkar.
Based on a story by Paris-based playwright and actor Vasanth Selvam (“Dheepan”), the film will follow 26-year-old Indian origin woman Tamara from Camargue in the south of France, who seeks her roots in the southern Indian territory Pondicherry, which was once a French colony. In parallel narratives, the film will trace the emotional turmoil of Tamara and two other women.
The film is fully financed and being produced by Indian companies Sithara Entertainments (“Bheemla Nayak”), Pawan Kalyan Creative Works (“Sardaar Gabbar Singh”) and Fortune Four Cinemas (“Sir”). Producers include Trivikram Srinivas, Nagavamsi S., and Sai Soujanya.
It is co-produced by Samir Sarkar for Singapore and India based Magic Hour Films (Rotterdam titles “Nasir” and “Jonaki”).
The agreement with Fessler was negotiated at the Cannes Film Market by Chandran and Sarkar.
- 5/25/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
“The Little Nicholas: Happy as Can Be” by Benjamin Massoubre and Amandine Fredon is having its world premiere at a Special Screening at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20.
Several years in the making, the film brings together the world-famous French schoolboy and his creators, author René Goscinny and cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempé, as it goes back and forth between their world and his imaginary world.
Translated into more than 30 languages, the Little Nicholas short stories have been adapted to fiction but never to animation until now. For the creative team, it was essential to stay true both to Goscinny’s short stories and to Sempé’s drawings.
“The main challenge was to create the Little Nicholas’ world in animation and, at the same time, remain faithful to Sempé’s style – his drawings are very small, they’re made in ink, which gives them a sort of awkward but very lively energy,...
Several years in the making, the film brings together the world-famous French schoolboy and his creators, author René Goscinny and cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempé, as it goes back and forth between their world and his imaginary world.
Translated into more than 30 languages, the Little Nicholas short stories have been adapted to fiction but never to animation until now. For the creative team, it was essential to stay true both to Goscinny’s short stories and to Sempé’s drawings.
“The main challenge was to create the Little Nicholas’ world in animation and, at the same time, remain faithful to Sempé’s style – his drawings are very small, they’re made in ink, which gives them a sort of awkward but very lively energy,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
Welcome to International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. With the 75th Cannes Film Festival less than two weeks away, we’re speaking with well-respected French sales exec Carole Baraton, co-founder of international sales and production outfit Charades. The company has four titles in selection and Baraton tells us about the company’s ambitions and why she’s looking forward to being back on the Croisette.
It’s been five years since French sales veteran Carole Baraton joined forces with former Gaumont exec Yohann Comte and former Studiocanal exec Pierre Mazars to launch Charades and in that short period of time the trio have managed to carve out a boutique sales and production label that has quickly become synonymous with quality independent fare.
The Paris-based company is a regular fixture on the international...
It’s been five years since French sales veteran Carole Baraton joined forces with former Gaumont exec Yohann Comte and former Studiocanal exec Pierre Mazars to launch Charades and in that short period of time the trio have managed to carve out a boutique sales and production label that has quickly become synonymous with quality independent fare.
The Paris-based company is a regular fixture on the international...
- 5/4/2022
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
It took a few extra days — and years of advocacy — but the Cannes Film Festival has finally broken its long-held record for the number of female filmmakers premiering films in the Competition section. With today’s new addition to the slate, this year’s festival will debut five films directed or co-directed by women in competition for the first time ever.
As IndieWire reported last week, when the the bulk of this year’s lineup was announced, the festival again failed to bump up its representation of female filmmakers in the competition. At the time, the festival announced just three films directed by women had made the cut, with Claire Denis, Kelly Reichardt, and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi all in the section. Today, with a fleet of new films announced, they will be joined by Charlotte Vandermeersch, who co-directed new competition title “The Eight Mountains” with Felix Van Groeningen, and former...
As IndieWire reported last week, when the the bulk of this year’s lineup was announced, the festival again failed to bump up its representation of female filmmakers in the competition. At the time, the festival announced just three films directed by women had made the cut, with Claire Denis, Kelly Reichardt, and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi all in the section. Today, with a fleet of new films announced, they will be joined by Charlotte Vandermeersch, who co-directed new competition title “The Eight Mountains” with Felix Van Groeningen, and former...
- 4/21/2022
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
After the initial announcement, the 2022 Cannes Film Festival has added a handful of new titles across its various sections. Most notably, Albert Serra’s newest feature Pacifiction – Tourment sur les îles is now in competition, as well as the latest film from Montparnasse Bienvenüe director Léonor Serraille. Also added is Serge Bozon’s Don Juan, starring Virginie Efira and Tahar Rahim, in the Cannes Premiere section, while Louis Garrel’s L’Innocent will premiere out of competition. Check out all the additions below.
Competition
Le Otto Montagne Charlotte Vandermeersch, Felix Van Groeningen (Italy/Belgium)
Un Petit FRÈRE Léonor Serraille (France)
Tourment Sur Les ÎLES Albert Serra (Spain)
Cannes PREMIÈRE
Don Juan Serge Bozon (France)
LA Nuit Du 12 Dominik Moll (France)
Chronique D’Une Liaison PASSAGÈRE Emmanuel Mouret (France)
Midnight Screenings
Rebel Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah (Belgium)
Un Certain Regard
Plus Que Jamais Emily Atef (Germany/France)
Mediterranean Fever Maha Haj...
Competition
Le Otto Montagne Charlotte Vandermeersch, Felix Van Groeningen (Italy/Belgium)
Un Petit FRÈRE Léonor Serraille (France)
Tourment Sur Les ÎLES Albert Serra (Spain)
Cannes PREMIÈRE
Don Juan Serge Bozon (France)
LA Nuit Du 12 Dominik Moll (France)
Chronique D’Une Liaison PASSAGÈRE Emmanuel Mouret (France)
Midnight Screenings
Rebel Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah (Belgium)
Un Certain Regard
Plus Que Jamais Emily Atef (Germany/France)
Mediterranean Fever Maha Haj...
- 4/21/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
The Cannes Film Festival on Thursday added a raft of movies to its lineup ahead of next month’s 75th edition, including three films in the main Competition lineup.
The news comes after festival head Thierry Frémaux last week unveiled the event’s 75th anniversary lineup in Paris.
The new Competition titles include two from women directors — Le Otto Montagne from Charlotte Vandermeersch and Felix Van Groeningen, and Un Petit Frère from Léonor Serraille — giving the lineup a record five women helmers in this year’s field competing for the Palme d’Or.
Here are the new titles:
New to Competition:
Le Otto Montagne
Charlotte Vandermeersch, Felix Van Groeningen
Italy/Belgium
Un Petit FRÈRE
Léonor Serraille
France
Tourment Sur Les ÎLES
Albert Serra
Spain
Added to Cannes Premiere section:
Don Juan
Serge Bozon
France
LA Nuit Du 12
Dominik Moll
France
Chronique D’Une Liaison PASSAGÈRE
Emmanuel Mouret
France
A new...
The news comes after festival head Thierry Frémaux last week unveiled the event’s 75th anniversary lineup in Paris.
The new Competition titles include two from women directors — Le Otto Montagne from Charlotte Vandermeersch and Felix Van Groeningen, and Un Petit Frère from Léonor Serraille — giving the lineup a record five women helmers in this year’s field competing for the Palme d’Or.
Here are the new titles:
New to Competition:
Le Otto Montagne
Charlotte Vandermeersch, Felix Van Groeningen
Italy/Belgium
Un Petit FRÈRE
Léonor Serraille
France
Tourment Sur Les ÎLES
Albert Serra
Spain
Added to Cannes Premiere section:
Don Juan
Serge Bozon
France
LA Nuit Du 12
Dominik Moll
France
Chronique D’Une Liaison PASSAGÈRE
Emmanuel Mouret
France
A new...
- 4/21/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the leading global get-together for all things animation, has unveiled the lineup for this year’s Work in Progress section, among the most highly anticipated events of the world’s animation calendar. When a physical event is possible, lines begin to form early in the morning as fans of the high-profile projects hope to get into the limited seating available at the Salle Pierre Lamy.
A barometer for future standout awards and/or box office success, recent high-profile projects featured at Annecy’s Work in Progress include Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Oscar-winner “Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse” and Oscar nominees in Netflix’s “Klaus” and “Over the Moon,” Cartoon Saloon’s “Wolfwalkers,” Claude Barras’ “My Life as a Zucchini,” Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar’s “Ernest & Celestine,” Michael Dudok de Wit’s “The Red Turtle” and Dean DeBlois’ “How to Train Your Dragon 2.
A barometer for future standout awards and/or box office success, recent high-profile projects featured at Annecy’s Work in Progress include Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Oscar-winner “Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse” and Oscar nominees in Netflix’s “Klaus” and “Over the Moon,” Cartoon Saloon’s “Wolfwalkers,” Claude Barras’ “My Life as a Zucchini,” Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar’s “Ernest & Celestine,” Michael Dudok de Wit’s “The Red Turtle” and Dean DeBlois’ “How to Train Your Dragon 2.
- 5/3/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Adrian Politowski’s Align, the L.A. based production and finance company, has come on board to co-finance “Little Nicholas,” a hand-drawn animated feature directed by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre.
The feature is being produced by Aton Soumache at On Kids & Family (“The Little Prince”), a Mediawan Group company, and Lilian Eche and Christel Henon at Bidibul Productions. Charades, the banner behind the Oscar-nominated “Mirai,” is handling international and domestic sales.
Fredon and Massoubre previously worked on “Ariol” and “I Lost My Body,” respectively. Created by the author Rene Goscinny and the New Yorker illustrator Jean-Jacques Sempe, “Le Petit Nicolas” follows the adventures of a mischievous boy and his schoolmates, teacher and parents in Paris in the 1960s.
The feature, written by Michel Fessler (“March of the Penguins”) and Anne Goscinny, the daughter of Rene and a critically acclaimed author herself, will have two narrative threads. One will follow Nicholas and his surroundings,...
The feature is being produced by Aton Soumache at On Kids & Family (“The Little Prince”), a Mediawan Group company, and Lilian Eche and Christel Henon at Bidibul Productions. Charades, the banner behind the Oscar-nominated “Mirai,” is handling international and domestic sales.
Fredon and Massoubre previously worked on “Ariol” and “I Lost My Body,” respectively. Created by the author Rene Goscinny and the New Yorker illustrator Jean-Jacques Sempe, “Le Petit Nicolas” follows the adventures of a mischievous boy and his schoolmates, teacher and parents in Paris in the 1960s.
The feature, written by Michel Fessler (“March of the Penguins”) and Anne Goscinny, the daughter of Rene and a critically acclaimed author herself, will have two narrative threads. One will follow Nicholas and his surroundings,...
- 3/3/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Warner Bros France are due to release the film in France and Benelux on October 6, 2021.
Charades has acquired world sales rights to Julien Rappeneau’s Little Nicholas’ Treasure, adapted from the classic 1960s ‘Le Petit Nicolas’ children’s books of French writer Rene Goscinny and illustrator Jean-Jacques Sempe.
The Paris-based sales company will introduce the film to buyers during the upcoming Unifrance Rendez-vous with French cinema, which unfolds online this year from January 13 to 15.
It marks a third feature for Rappeneau after Of Love And Lies and Rosalie Blum. He directed and co-wrote the screenplay adaptation with Mathias Gavarry.
This...
Charades has acquired world sales rights to Julien Rappeneau’s Little Nicholas’ Treasure, adapted from the classic 1960s ‘Le Petit Nicolas’ children’s books of French writer Rene Goscinny and illustrator Jean-Jacques Sempe.
The Paris-based sales company will introduce the film to buyers during the upcoming Unifrance Rendez-vous with French cinema, which unfolds online this year from January 13 to 15.
It marks a third feature for Rappeneau after Of Love And Lies and Rosalie Blum. He directed and co-wrote the screenplay adaptation with Mathias Gavarry.
This...
- 1/7/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV Plus will soon be forced to play a more significant role in the financing of European content when the Audiovisual Media Services Directive officially kicks off on Jan. 1.
While each of the European Union’s member states is in the process of exploring ways to adapt the directive — which requires streamers to allocate at least 30% of their catalogues to local programming — France is leading the charge, powered by a task force of representatives from the producers and directors guilds, along with the National Film Board (Cnc) and the Directorate-General for Media and Culture Industries (Dgmic). A draft of the decree was submitted to the French government around 10 days ago and a final decision is expected in early December.
Defining the contours of the decree has been a balancing act for the task force and the French orgs whose goal...
While each of the European Union’s member states is in the process of exploring ways to adapt the directive — which requires streamers to allocate at least 30% of their catalogues to local programming — France is leading the charge, powered by a task force of representatives from the producers and directors guilds, along with the National Film Board (Cnc) and the Directorate-General for Media and Culture Industries (Dgmic). A draft of the decree was submitted to the French government around 10 days ago and a final decision is expected in early December.
Defining the contours of the decree has been a balancing act for the task force and the French orgs whose goal...
- 11/26/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Disney Plus and Disney Channel have swooped for a pair of animated TV movies based on the popular “Miraculous” franchise, produced by L.A.-based banner Zag and Mediawan-owned “The Little Prince” producer On Kids & Family.
The two film projects, titled “Miraculous World: New York – United HeroeZ” and “Miraculous World: Shanghai – Lady Dragon,” have been acquired by the Mouse House’s streaming platform and channel for global premiere rights outside of Brazil and China.
Second window rights have been snapped up by France’s leading commercial network TF1, Brazil’s Gloob (Grupo Globo), Canada’s family channel Télé-Québec and the U.K.’s Pop for regional rights.
Created by Zag and produced by Zag and On Kids & Family, the 3D-cgi-animated TV movies will be directed by Thomas Astruc, the creative force whose “Miraculous” series is a global hit airing in more than 120 territories.
Winner of the 2018 Teen Choice Award for animated series,...
The two film projects, titled “Miraculous World: New York – United HeroeZ” and “Miraculous World: Shanghai – Lady Dragon,” have been acquired by the Mouse House’s streaming platform and channel for global premiere rights outside of Brazil and China.
Second window rights have been snapped up by France’s leading commercial network TF1, Brazil’s Gloob (Grupo Globo), Canada’s family channel Télé-Québec and the U.K.’s Pop for regional rights.
Created by Zag and produced by Zag and On Kids & Family, the 3D-cgi-animated TV movies will be directed by Thomas Astruc, the creative force whose “Miraculous” series is a global hit airing in more than 120 territories.
Winner of the 2018 Teen Choice Award for animated series,...
- 7/22/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Charades has closed a raft of sales on the French comedy “The Speech” which is part of Cannes 2020’s Official Selection and is screening at Cannes’ virtual Marché du Film.
“The Speech” is adapted from Fabcaro’s novel “Le discours,” and is directed by Laurent Tirard, the popular French helmer of “Little Nicholas” and “Astérix and Obélix: God Save Britannia.” The movie is one of five comedies which are part of Cannes’ official selection.
“The Speech” tells the story of Adrien, who is going through an existential crisis and is about to get dumped by his girlfriend. During a family dinner, Adrien is asked to prepare a speech for the wedding ceremony of his sister and brother in-law. As he starts imagining what he would say, Adrien’s mind gets lost in a flurry of hilarious thoughts and twisted memories about his family.
In spite of the current coronavirus crisis...
“The Speech” is adapted from Fabcaro’s novel “Le discours,” and is directed by Laurent Tirard, the popular French helmer of “Little Nicholas” and “Astérix and Obélix: God Save Britannia.” The movie is one of five comedies which are part of Cannes’ official selection.
“The Speech” tells the story of Adrien, who is going through an existential crisis and is about to get dumped by his girlfriend. During a family dinner, Adrien is asked to prepare a speech for the wedding ceremony of his sister and brother in-law. As he starts imagining what he would say, Adrien’s mind gets lost in a flurry of hilarious thoughts and twisted memories about his family.
In spite of the current coronavirus crisis...
- 6/25/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlinale usually offers fertile ground for the Jewish Film Festival programmers. At the informal gathering around Nicola Galliner, the founder and director of the Jewish Film Festival of Berlin Brandenburg, programmers trade information and impressions as they meet with old and new friends. This year seems rather slim in programming although the good was great.
This was very best film with Jewish content at the Berlinale 2020 !!!
Persian Lessons by Vadim Perelman was a Special Gala. Why it was not in Competition I do not know but it could have won…It can still win next year’s Academy Award for Best International Film. It brought raves from everyone. “A fantastic performance by Lars Eidinger — best Nazi ever !!!” said one fan.
Persian Lessons’ world premiere came days after the racially motivated, right-wing extremist mass shooting in the German city of Hanau which left nine dead.
This Russian-German-Belarus feature, set in...
This was very best film with Jewish content at the Berlinale 2020 !!!
Persian Lessons by Vadim Perelman was a Special Gala. Why it was not in Competition I do not know but it could have won…It can still win next year’s Academy Award for Best International Film. It brought raves from everyone. “A fantastic performance by Lars Eidinger — best Nazi ever !!!” said one fan.
Persian Lessons’ world premiere came days after the racially motivated, right-wing extremist mass shooting in the German city of Hanau which left nine dead.
This Russian-German-Belarus feature, set in...
- 4/30/2020
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Olivier Delbosc’s Paris-based company Curiosa Films is partnering with Wild Bunch Germany on “Charlotte,” a WWII-set film about the short and prolific life of the German-Jewish artist Charlotte Salomon, who died in Auschwitz in 1943 at the age of 26.
“Charlotte” will be directed by Gilles Bourdos. His film “Renoir” played in Un Certain Regard at Cannes and represented France in the foreign-language Oscar race in 2014. The film will mark the first adaptation of David Foenkinos’ 2015 prize-winning novel “Charlotte.”
Bourdos penned the script with his frequent collaborator Michel Spinosa, as well as Foenkinos.
The ambitious period film will tell the story of Salomon, a young prodigy who left her mark on the world of arts with “Life? Or Theatre?” — an autobiographical series of 769 paintings that she created between 1941 and 1943 in the south of France, where she lived before she was captured by the Gestapo and deported to Auschwitz.
“Charlotte Salomon’s...
“Charlotte” will be directed by Gilles Bourdos. His film “Renoir” played in Un Certain Regard at Cannes and represented France in the foreign-language Oscar race in 2014. The film will mark the first adaptation of David Foenkinos’ 2015 prize-winning novel “Charlotte.”
Bourdos penned the script with his frequent collaborator Michel Spinosa, as well as Foenkinos.
The ambitious period film will tell the story of Salomon, a young prodigy who left her mark on the world of arts with “Life? Or Theatre?” — an autobiographical series of 769 paintings that she created between 1941 and 1943 in the south of France, where she lived before she was captured by the Gestapo and deported to Auschwitz.
“Charlotte Salomon’s...
- 2/24/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Charades, the Paris-based sales company behind the Oscar-nominated “I Lost My Body” and “Mirai,” has closed a raft of deals on high-profile animated features, including “Little Nicholas” and “Marona’s Fantastic Tale.”
Anca Damian’s “Marona’s Fantastic Tale,” which world premiered in competition at last year’s Annecy Film Festival and was nominated at the European Film Awards, portrays a dog who, reflecting back on her life, reminisces about her different homes and owners after being hit by a car.
Set for a North American release later this year with Gkids, “Marona’s Fantastic Tale” has been acquired by Japan (Riskit), Spain (Pack Magic), the Baltics (Scanorama), Taiwan (Sky Digi), China (Legend Film), Poland (New Horizons), South Korea (Challan), Sweden (Triart) and Netherlands (Windmill). Damian’s followup to “Crulic: The Path to Beyond,” “Marona’s Fantastic Tale” is made with a range of styles, from expressionistic sketches to crayon drawings.
Anca Damian’s “Marona’s Fantastic Tale,” which world premiered in competition at last year’s Annecy Film Festival and was nominated at the European Film Awards, portrays a dog who, reflecting back on her life, reminisces about her different homes and owners after being hit by a car.
Set for a North American release later this year with Gkids, “Marona’s Fantastic Tale” has been acquired by Japan (Riskit), Spain (Pack Magic), the Baltics (Scanorama), Taiwan (Sky Digi), China (Legend Film), Poland (New Horizons), South Korea (Challan), Sweden (Triart) and Netherlands (Windmill). Damian’s followup to “Crulic: The Path to Beyond,” “Marona’s Fantastic Tale” is made with a range of styles, from expressionistic sketches to crayon drawings.
- 2/22/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Shenzhen-based studio has acquired all Chinese rights to the property and will invest in the development of a theatrical feature.
France’s On Kids & Family and Paris and La-based Zag are partnering with Chinese animation studio Fantawild in a joint venture to develop animation brand Miraculous in China.
Fantawild has acquired all Chinese rights to the property and will invest and participate in the development of a feature film, which is aiming for a theatrical release in China. The joint venture will also be involved in a TV series, licensed merchandise and location-based entertainment in the China market.
Created by...
France’s On Kids & Family and Paris and La-based Zag are partnering with Chinese animation studio Fantawild in a joint venture to develop animation brand Miraculous in China.
Fantawild has acquired all Chinese rights to the property and will invest and participate in the development of a feature film, which is aiming for a theatrical release in China. The joint venture will also be involved in a TV series, licensed merchandise and location-based entertainment in the China market.
Created by...
- 2/19/2020
- by 89¦Liz Shackleton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Charades, the sales firm launched three years ago by former execs at Wild Bunch, Gaumont and Studiocanal, will roll into the Berlinale’s European Film Market with a raft of pre-sales on anticipated French projects, including “The Rosemaker” with Catherine Frot and Laurent Tirard’s “The Speech.”
Charades will unveil the promos of both films, as well as “Madeleine Collins,” Antoine Barraud’s psychological drama headlined by Virginie Efira, and will be hosting the market premieres of Sebastien Demoustier’s “The Girl With a Bracelet” which is generating strong box office returns in France, where it opened last week, and Bruno Merle’s “Felicita.”
A psychological drama, starring Chiara Mastroianni and Roschdy Zem, “The Girl With a Bracelet,” has already attracted 100,000 admissions in five days. The film follows a 16-year-old who stands trial for the murder of her best friend and begins to confess to a secret life that she kept from her parents.
Charades will unveil the promos of both films, as well as “Madeleine Collins,” Antoine Barraud’s psychological drama headlined by Virginie Efira, and will be hosting the market premieres of Sebastien Demoustier’s “The Girl With a Bracelet” which is generating strong box office returns in France, where it opened last week, and Bruno Merle’s “Felicita.”
A psychological drama, starring Chiara Mastroianni and Roschdy Zem, “The Girl With a Bracelet,” has already attracted 100,000 admissions in five days. The film follows a 16-year-old who stands trial for the murder of her best friend and begins to confess to a secret life that she kept from her parents.
- 2/18/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Charades, the sales company behind the Oscar-nominated animated film “I Lost My Body,” has boarded three new French films, “Madeleine Collins” with Virginie Efira, as well as the comedies “Felicita” and “The Speech.”
Charades will be introducing the three titles at the UniFrance Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, an industry showcase of local movies kicking off on Jan. 16.
“Madeleine Collins” is a psychological drama directed by Antoine Barraud and headlined by Efira, the popular Belgian actress of Justine Triet’s “Victoria” and “Sibyl,” as well as Paul Verhoeven’s anticipated “Benedetta.”
Efira (pictured) stars in “Madeleine Collins” as Judith who leads a double life between Switzerland and France. In one country, she lives with Abdel with whom she raises a little girl, and in another country she lives with Melvil with whom she has two older boys. Judith gets slowly embroiled in a web of lies and secrets, leading her balancing act to explode dangerously.
Charades will be introducing the three titles at the UniFrance Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, an industry showcase of local movies kicking off on Jan. 16.
“Madeleine Collins” is a psychological drama directed by Antoine Barraud and headlined by Efira, the popular Belgian actress of Justine Triet’s “Victoria” and “Sibyl,” as well as Paul Verhoeven’s anticipated “Benedetta.”
Efira (pictured) stars in “Madeleine Collins” as Judith who leads a double life between Switzerland and France. In one country, she lives with Abdel with whom she raises a little girl, and in another country she lives with Melvil with whom she has two older boys. Judith gets slowly embroiled in a web of lies and secrets, leading her balancing act to explode dangerously.
- 1/15/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Benjamin Lavernhe and Sara Giraudeau play lead roles in this work produced by Les Films sur Mesure and sold by Charades, whose cast also includes Kyan Khojandi, Julia Piaton and François Morel. Laurent Tirard’s 8th feature film, Le Discours, has just wrapped its six-week film shoot in Paris. It’s a new comedy by a filmmaker who has often struck an impressive balance between artistic quality and respectable box-office results, as demonstrated by The Story of My Life, Molière (1.2 million viewers in France in 2007 and four nominations at the 2008 César Awards), Little Nicholas (5.5 million admissions in France in 2009), Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia (3.8 million viewers in 2012), Nicholas on Holiday (2.4 million admissions in 2014), Up For Love and Return of the Hero (816,000...
Aton Soumache’s On Entertainment (“Playmobil”) is allying with Joann Sfar, the revered French comicbook artist and filmmaker, on an ambitious live action mini-series inspired by French aviator and author Antoine de Saint Exupery’s 1943 philosophical and self-reflective parable “The Little Prince.”
The project, which is still at an early development stage, is being conceived as five mini-movies filled with fantasy and adventures which will mix live action and CGI in the veins of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Jungle Book,” Soumache told Variety.
On Entertainment, which is now part of Mediawan, bought a majority stake in Sfar’s company Nice Pictures, and will soon unveil its rebranding along with a slate of high-profile series and film projects.
Sfar said “The Little Prince” has played a meaningful role in his career. His 2008 adaptation of “The Little Prince” became a New York Times bestseller and allowed him to break through internationally.
The project, which is still at an early development stage, is being conceived as five mini-movies filled with fantasy and adventures which will mix live action and CGI in the veins of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Jungle Book,” Soumache told Variety.
On Entertainment, which is now part of Mediawan, bought a majority stake in Sfar’s company Nice Pictures, and will soon unveil its rebranding along with a slate of high-profile series and film projects.
Sfar said “The Little Prince” has played a meaningful role in his career. His 2008 adaptation of “The Little Prince” became a New York Times bestseller and allowed him to break through internationally.
- 6/10/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Paris-based sales outfit Charades has boarded Pierre Pinaud’s sophomore feature “The Rose Maker,” a comedy with French star Catherine Frot (“The Midwife”), along with “Africa Mia,” a documentary about the birth of Afro-Cuban music, as well as the U.K. drama “Lynn + Lucy.”
Pinaud will be directing “The Rose Maker” with the popular French helmer Philippe Le Guay, whose credits include the critically acclaimed romantic comedy “The Women on the 6th Floor.”
Penned by Pinaud and Fadette Drouard, the film is a social comedy starring Frot as Eve, a childless woman who has isolated herself from others and is a famous rose maker on the verge on bankruptcy. In a desperate attempt to rescue her business, she hires Serge, Nadège and Fred, three lame ducks enrolled in a back-to-work program who do not have any horticulture skills, and unexpectedly finds out that nurturing others is even more rewarding than creating flowers.
Pinaud will be directing “The Rose Maker” with the popular French helmer Philippe Le Guay, whose credits include the critically acclaimed romantic comedy “The Women on the 6th Floor.”
Penned by Pinaud and Fadette Drouard, the film is a social comedy starring Frot as Eve, a childless woman who has isolated herself from others and is a famous rose maker on the verge on bankruptcy. In a desperate attempt to rescue her business, she hires Serge, Nadège and Fred, three lame ducks enrolled in a back-to-work program who do not have any horticulture skills, and unexpectedly finds out that nurturing others is even more rewarding than creating flowers.
- 5/7/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
After having been successfully adapted into a pair of live-action movies, “Le Petit Nicolas,” based on the popular series of French children’s books from the ’60s, will be back on the big screen in an hand-drawn animated feature directed by Gilles de Maistre (“Mia and the White Lion”) and Amandine Fredon.
“Le Petit Nicolas, une enfance rêvée” is being produced by French animation powerhouse On Entertainment (“The Little Prince”), in co-production with Foliascope (“The Tower”), Luxembourg outfit Bidibul Productions (“A Cat in Paris”) and Canada’s Kaibou. Charades, the banner behind the Oscar-nominated “Mirai,” is handling international sales and will introduce the project (currently in pre-production) to buyers at Cannes.
“Little Nicholas” marks the first 2D animated feature undertaken by Aton Soumache at On Entertainment, whose credits include the Cannes-premiering, BAFTA-nominated “The Little Prince” and the upcoming “Playmobil: The Movie.” Foliascope is the company launched by animation veteran Pascal Le Notre,...
“Le Petit Nicolas, une enfance rêvée” is being produced by French animation powerhouse On Entertainment (“The Little Prince”), in co-production with Foliascope (“The Tower”), Luxembourg outfit Bidibul Productions (“A Cat in Paris”) and Canada’s Kaibou. Charades, the banner behind the Oscar-nominated “Mirai,” is handling international sales and will introduce the project (currently in pre-production) to buyers at Cannes.
“Little Nicholas” marks the first 2D animated feature undertaken by Aton Soumache at On Entertainment, whose credits include the Cannes-premiering, BAFTA-nominated “The Little Prince” and the upcoming “Playmobil: The Movie.” Foliascope is the company launched by animation veteran Pascal Le Notre,...
- 5/2/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Gaumont is reteaming with “The Intouchables” and “C’est La Vie” production banner Quad on Mohamed Hamidi (“One Man and His Cow”)’s concept company “Queens of The Field.”
The movie is set in a small rural town which is on the verge of losing its funding along with its field. The threat leads the town women to join forces and launch a football crew in order to defend their city. But in a community where football has always been considered a men’s sport, the women’s team turns the town upside down.
“Queens of The Field” is headlined by a strong French cast, including Kad Merad (“Little Nicholas”), Alban Ivanov (“Sink or Swim”), Sabrina Ouazani (“Taxi 5”) and Céline Sallette (“The Returned”).
Hamidi previously directed “One Man and His Cow,” which grossed over $10 million and was nominated for a European Film Award in 2016.
Gaumont described the film...
The movie is set in a small rural town which is on the verge of losing its funding along with its field. The threat leads the town women to join forces and launch a football crew in order to defend their city. But in a community where football has always been considered a men’s sport, the women’s team turns the town upside down.
“Queens of The Field” is headlined by a strong French cast, including Kad Merad (“Little Nicholas”), Alban Ivanov (“Sink or Swim”), Sabrina Ouazani (“Taxi 5”) and Céline Sallette (“The Returned”).
Hamidi previously directed “One Man and His Cow,” which grossed over $10 million and was nominated for a European Film Award in 2016.
Gaumont described the film...
- 1/18/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Wild Bunch is launching sales on Pan-Européenne-led production at Unifrance Rdv in Paris.
The UK’s Altitude Film Entertainment has boarded French director Pierre Godeau’s upcoming adaptation of Jean-Jacques Sempé’s heart-warming tale Raoul Taburin.
Set against the backdrop of a small French town, the film will star Benoît Poelvoorde as the endearingly comic figure of Raoul Taburin, a reputed bicycle shop owner desperate to hide the fact he cannot ride a bike himself.
Altitude has pre-bought UK rights with company chief Will Clarke taking an executive producer credit.
The deal builds on a growing relationship between Altitude and Nathalie Gastaldo-Godeau and Philippe Godeau’s Paris and London-based Pan-Européene which has developed since the couple moved to the UK in 2015.
Last year, the two companies entered a partnership for the UK release of Jérôme Salles’s Jacques Cousteau bio-pic The Odyssey, under which the film will hit UK screens this June.
Discussions on Raoul...
The UK’s Altitude Film Entertainment has boarded French director Pierre Godeau’s upcoming adaptation of Jean-Jacques Sempé’s heart-warming tale Raoul Taburin.
Set against the backdrop of a small French town, the film will star Benoît Poelvoorde as the endearingly comic figure of Raoul Taburin, a reputed bicycle shop owner desperate to hide the fact he cannot ride a bike himself.
Altitude has pre-bought UK rights with company chief Will Clarke taking an executive producer credit.
The deal builds on a growing relationship between Altitude and Nathalie Gastaldo-Godeau and Philippe Godeau’s Paris and London-based Pan-Européene which has developed since the couple moved to the UK in 2015.
Last year, the two companies entered a partnership for the UK release of Jérôme Salles’s Jacques Cousteau bio-pic The Odyssey, under which the film will hit UK screens this June.
Discussions on Raoul...
- 1/13/2017
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Paris-based company reshuffles sales team as Carole Baraton steps down as head of sales.
Wild Bunch will launch sales on new films by Jean-Luc Godard, Christian Carion, Michel Ocelot, Raymond Depardon as well as a feel-good, Senegal-set drama starring Omar Sy at Unifrance’s upcoming Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris (Jan 12-16).
The event will also mark the first outing for the company’s reconfigured sales team following Carole Baraton’s decision to step down as head of sales to set-up her own company.
Baraton’s long-time territories the Us, France and the UK will be carved up between the sales team, now consisting of Silvia Simonutti, Emilie Serres, Olivier Barbier, recent hire Fanny Beauville and Esther Devos for festivals.
Notably, Beauville will co-handle Canada and the Us in partnership with La’s Creative Artist Agency (CAA), working closely with the agency’s film finance and sales group co-chief Roeg Sutherland and his team.
Bilingual...
Wild Bunch will launch sales on new films by Jean-Luc Godard, Christian Carion, Michel Ocelot, Raymond Depardon as well as a feel-good, Senegal-set drama starring Omar Sy at Unifrance’s upcoming Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris (Jan 12-16).
The event will also mark the first outing for the company’s reconfigured sales team following Carole Baraton’s decision to step down as head of sales to set-up her own company.
Baraton’s long-time territories the Us, France and the UK will be carved up between the sales team, now consisting of Silvia Simonutti, Emilie Serres, Olivier Barbier, recent hire Fanny Beauville and Esther Devos for festivals.
Notably, Beauville will co-handle Canada and the Us in partnership with La’s Creative Artist Agency (CAA), working closely with the agency’s film finance and sales group co-chief Roeg Sutherland and his team.
Bilingual...
- 12/27/2016
- ScreenDaily
UK distributor Soda Pictures has teamed with the BFI, film education programme Into Film, UK children’s festivals and indie exhibitors to launch Children’s Cinema Club, an initiative to boost the number of independent children’s films on release in the UK.
Four films will be selected for distribution by a panel of 12 curators and programmers including Mike Tait from Discovery Film Festival in Dundee; Chris Shaw from Cinemagic in Belfast; Joan Parsons from Showcomotion in Sheffield; Gemma Woolley from Zoom Cymru in Wales; Ian Francis from Flatpack Film Festival in Birmingham; and Nicky Beaumont from Brighton’s Cine City, alongside Simon Ward from the Independent Cinema Office, Leah Byrne from Picturehouse Cinemas, Susie Evans from the Barbican, Kate Gerova from Birds Eye View Film Festival; Moira McVean from Into Film; and Soda MD Edward Fletcher.
The partners will collaborate on the acquisitions, press and marketing for the films.
Sally Hodgson of [link...
Four films will be selected for distribution by a panel of 12 curators and programmers including Mike Tait from Discovery Film Festival in Dundee; Chris Shaw from Cinemagic in Belfast; Joan Parsons from Showcomotion in Sheffield; Gemma Woolley from Zoom Cymru in Wales; Ian Francis from Flatpack Film Festival in Birmingham; and Nicky Beaumont from Brighton’s Cine City, alongside Simon Ward from the Independent Cinema Office, Leah Byrne from Picturehouse Cinemas, Susie Evans from the Barbican, Kate Gerova from Birds Eye View Film Festival; Moira McVean from Into Film; and Soda MD Edward Fletcher.
The partners will collaborate on the acquisitions, press and marketing for the films.
Sally Hodgson of [link...
- 8/8/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Belgian director is currently in Paris with critically acclaimed, mixed media stage show Kiss and Cry, which he also hopes to adapt for the big screen.
Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael is preparing to shoot his first film in half a decade, a Brussels-set comedy, provisionally entitled Fille de Dieu and starring French actor Daniel Auteuil as God.
“The pitch is: God exists, he lives in Brussels, he’s horrible to his daughter, she gets revenge,” Van Dormael told ScreenDaily.
Van Dormael – best known for his Toto the Hero, The Eighth Day and his last film Mr. Nobody – plans to shoot in Belgium in spring to early summer 2014.
He is producing through his company Terra Incognita. Auteuil, who starred in The Eighth Day, will co-produce through his Paris-based Zack Films.
“The idea is to work with the same team as Mr. Nobody – but in a reduced format so we’ll be 15 to 20 crew maximum — and to try...
Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael is preparing to shoot his first film in half a decade, a Brussels-set comedy, provisionally entitled Fille de Dieu and starring French actor Daniel Auteuil as God.
“The pitch is: God exists, he lives in Brussels, he’s horrible to his daughter, she gets revenge,” Van Dormael told ScreenDaily.
Van Dormael – best known for his Toto the Hero, The Eighth Day and his last film Mr. Nobody – plans to shoot in Belgium in spring to early summer 2014.
He is producing through his company Terra Incognita. Auteuil, who starred in The Eighth Day, will co-produce through his Paris-based Zack Films.
“The idea is to work with the same team as Mr. Nobody – but in a reduced format so we’ll be 15 to 20 crew maximum — and to try...
- 7/5/2013
- ScreenDaily
Belgian director is currently in Paris with critically acclaimed, mixed media stage show Kiss and Cry, which he also hopes to adapt for the big screen.
Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael is preparing to shoot his first film in half a decade, a Brussels-set comedy, provisionally entitled Fille de Dieu and starring French actor Daniel Auteuil as God.
“The pitch is: God exists, he lives in Brussels, he’s horrible to his daughter, she gets revenge,” Van Dormael told ScreenDaily.
Van Dormael – best known for his Toto the Hero, The Eighth Day and his last film Mr. Nobody – plans to shoot in Belgium in spring to early summer 2014.
He is producing through his company Terra Incognita. Auteuil, who starred in The Eighth Day, will co-produce through his Paris-based Zack Films.
“The idea is to work with the same team as Mr. Nobody – but in a reduced format so we’ll be 15 to 20 crew maximum — and to try...
Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael is preparing to shoot his first film in half a decade, a Brussels-set comedy, provisionally entitled Fille de Dieu and starring French actor Daniel Auteuil as God.
“The pitch is: God exists, he lives in Brussels, he’s horrible to his daughter, she gets revenge,” Van Dormael told ScreenDaily.
Van Dormael – best known for his Toto the Hero, The Eighth Day and his last film Mr. Nobody – plans to shoot in Belgium in spring to early summer 2014.
He is producing through his company Terra Incognita. Auteuil, who starred in The Eighth Day, will co-produce through his Paris-based Zack Films.
“The idea is to work with the same team as Mr. Nobody – but in a reduced format so we’ll be 15 to 20 crew maximum — and to try...
- 7/5/2013
- ScreenDaily
Based on a series of French children's books, written by René Goscinny and illustrated by the celebrated cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempé, Petit Nicolas is a likable, sentimental, occasionally saccharine celebration of middle-class France and its likable children in the late 1950s and early 60s, before TV, rock'n'roll, video games and les événements of 1968 had swept the country and changed the culture. Life is seen through the eyes of the sweet-natured, innocent nine-year-old Nicolas, who respects his parents and teachers, has fun playing with his schoolmates and is shy with girls. He only gets troubled (and comically rebellious) when he erroneously comes to believe his mother is pregnant and that he'll have to make way for a baby brother. It couldn't be further from such key movies about children made 50 years ago as Truffaut's Les Quatre cents coups and Malle's Zazie dans le métro.
World cinemaDramaChildren and teenagersFrancePhilip French
guardian.co.uk...
World cinemaDramaChildren and teenagersFrancePhilip French
guardian.co.uk...
- 8/25/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
The Imposter (15)
(Bart Layton, 2012, UK) Frédéric Bourdin, Charlie Parker, Carey Gibson. 99 mins.
Documentaries don't come much stranger than this. The film begins with the discovery in Spain in 1997 of a 16-year-old boy. Could this really be Nicholas Barclay, who went missing aged 13 from his home in San Antonio, Texas? Well, no. Nicholas's family welcomed this "boy" into their home without realising that he was in fact a 23-year-old French-Algerian master of deception named Frédéric Bourdin. Then things got really weird.
Shadow Dancer (15)
(James Marsh, 2012, UK/Ire) Clive Owen, Andrea Riseborough, Aidan Gillen, Gillian Anderson. 102 mins.
An embittered mother dedicated to the Ira struggle is forced to turn informer by MI5. This stark and suspenseful thriller returns documentary-maker Marsh to scripted drama after Man On Wire and Project Nim.
The Watch (15)
(Akiva Schaffer, 2012, Us) Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill, Vince Vaughn, Richard Ayoade, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mel Rodriguez. 102 mins.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop...
(Bart Layton, 2012, UK) Frédéric Bourdin, Charlie Parker, Carey Gibson. 99 mins.
Documentaries don't come much stranger than this. The film begins with the discovery in Spain in 1997 of a 16-year-old boy. Could this really be Nicholas Barclay, who went missing aged 13 from his home in San Antonio, Texas? Well, no. Nicholas's family welcomed this "boy" into their home without realising that he was in fact a 23-year-old French-Algerian master of deception named Frédéric Bourdin. Then things got really weird.
Shadow Dancer (15)
(James Marsh, 2012, UK/Ire) Clive Owen, Andrea Riseborough, Aidan Gillen, Gillian Anderson. 102 mins.
An embittered mother dedicated to the Ira struggle is forced to turn informer by MI5. This stark and suspenseful thriller returns documentary-maker Marsh to scripted drama after Man On Wire and Project Nim.
The Watch (15)
(Akiva Schaffer, 2012, Us) Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill, Vince Vaughn, Richard Ayoade, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mel Rodriguez. 102 mins.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop...
- 8/24/2012
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
Magic Mike (15)
(Steven Soderbergh, 2012, Us) Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Cody Horn, Matthew McConaughey, Olivia Munn. 110 mins
The roles are reversed but the themes are familiar in this rise-and-fall tale of male strippers, making and losing their way in a (sort of) woman's world. It's like a cross between The Full Monty, Boogie Nights and Showgirls, sketching a landscape of exploitation and desperation – even as it participates in it by serving up the barely clad Tatum and other beef products.
Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (15)
(Lorene Scafaria, 2012, Us) Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Patton Oswalt. 101 mins
Do passion and the apocalypse mix? Or Carell and Knightley? This faltering effort tries anyway.
Detachment (15)
(Tony Kaye, 2011, Us) Adrien Brody, Marcia Gay Harden. 98 mins
No provocation left behind in this scathing schoolroom drama with a starry cast.
Ice Age 4: Continental Drift (U)
(Steve Martino, Mark Thurmeier, 2012, Us) Ray Romano, Denis Leary.
(Steven Soderbergh, 2012, Us) Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Cody Horn, Matthew McConaughey, Olivia Munn. 110 mins
The roles are reversed but the themes are familiar in this rise-and-fall tale of male strippers, making and losing their way in a (sort of) woman's world. It's like a cross between The Full Monty, Boogie Nights and Showgirls, sketching a landscape of exploitation and desperation – even as it participates in it by serving up the barely clad Tatum and other beef products.
Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (15)
(Lorene Scafaria, 2012, Us) Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Patton Oswalt. 101 mins
Do passion and the apocalypse mix? Or Carell and Knightley? This faltering effort tries anyway.
Detachment (15)
(Tony Kaye, 2011, Us) Adrien Brody, Marcia Gay Harden. 98 mins
No provocation left behind in this scathing schoolroom drama with a starry cast.
Ice Age 4: Continental Drift (U)
(Steve Martino, Mark Thurmeier, 2012, Us) Ray Romano, Denis Leary.
- 7/13/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Dqe has entered into a co-production agreement for the second series of the animation of Le Petit Nicolas with M6 Studios (France).The second season of Le Petit Nicolas,also known as Little Nick comprises 52 episodes of 13 minutes each at a global budget of approximately €7.7 million . The series will be developed in high-end CGI and production is scheduled to start in 2011. Dqe has the exclusive right to sell and distribute the TV and video rights pertaining to the series in Asian territories in Hindi, English and all local languages. Dqe will also ...
- 1/17/2011
- BusinessofCinema
Ticket sales in France reached 104.2 million between January and June this year, according to state body Centre National de la Cinématographie. Box office hit €640 million ($813 million). The admissions rise was choked off in June though, partly because of the World Cup and partly because of weak film releases. June admissions fell by 4.4% year-on-year to 10.7 million. Hollywood increased its market share to 52.3% over the first six months. France’s share of the box office fell to 38.5% compared with 40% in 2009. This is despite local films such as holdover Le Petit Nicolas grossing €5.7 million and L’Amacoeur [...]...
- 7/14/2010
- by TIM ADLER
- Deadline London
Jon Favreau confirmed that Harrison Ford has joined the cast of Cowboys and Aliens, which would have been great news twenty years ago. My first reaction was that this was a good thing, but then I realized that the universe is too malicious a place for that to really be the case. Have you flipped through Ford's list of films lately? He hasn't made a decent movie since The Fugitive in 1993. Other than the campy entertainment of Air Force One in 1997, his resume is like a highlight reel of the worst movies made every year. No one under the age of twenty has seen a good Harrison Ford movie in theaters unless they caught the Star Wars re-releases back when they were seven or so.
(source: Film School Rejects)
David Cross (Tobias) says that the Arrested Development movie is completely dead, which is as unsurprising as it is nevertheless disappointing.
(source: Film School Rejects)
David Cross (Tobias) says that the Arrested Development movie is completely dead, which is as unsurprising as it is nevertheless disappointing.
- 4/8/2010
- by Steven Lloyd Wilson
Toronto -- The Berlin award-winning teen dramedy "My Suicide" from U.S. director David Lee Miller is to unspool at the upcoming Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival For Children, organizers said Tuesday.
The Gabriel Sunday-starring film about a high school teen making a video project about his own suicide recently won the best feature film prize in Berlin's youth film section Generation 14plus (Hr, Feb. 13).
Sprockets also booked Neil Diamond's "Reel Injun," a Canadian documentary about inaccurate portrayals of native peoples in Hollywood films.
But elsewhere, there's an international flavor to Sprockets' 13th edition, with 27 features and 41 shorts from 23 countries and in 20 languages on offer.
As in past years, the Toronto event aligned with the Toronto International Film Festival will look to widen young film tastes beyond Pixar and Disney by featuring mostly European films in its features sidebar, including Norwegian director Asleik Engmark's "Twigson," "The Indian" from Dutch director Ineke Houtman,...
The Gabriel Sunday-starring film about a high school teen making a video project about his own suicide recently won the best feature film prize in Berlin's youth film section Generation 14plus (Hr, Feb. 13).
Sprockets also booked Neil Diamond's "Reel Injun," a Canadian documentary about inaccurate portrayals of native peoples in Hollywood films.
But elsewhere, there's an international flavor to Sprockets' 13th edition, with 27 features and 41 shorts from 23 countries and in 20 languages on offer.
As in past years, the Toronto event aligned with the Toronto International Film Festival will look to widen young film tastes beyond Pixar and Disney by featuring mostly European films in its features sidebar, including Norwegian director Asleik Engmark's "Twigson," "The Indian" from Dutch director Ineke Houtman,...
- 3/9/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Buoyed by a substantial first-place U.K. debut, Pixar/Disney's "Up" reclaimed the No. 1 spot on the foreign circuit over the weekend, generating $21 million overall from 3,500 locations in 25 markets and pushing its overseas gross total to $257.1 million.
School holidays in two foreign markets were kind to the weekend's No. 1 title in the U.S. and Canada. Universal's "Couples Retreat," starring Vince Vaughn, opened offshore in Australia and New Zealand for a combined tally of $3 million from 228 sites. The comedy's No. 1 Aussie ranking resulted from $2.8 million drawn from 188 locations for a solid per-screen average of $14,894.
Sony premiered "Zombieland" in the U.K. and Russia and garnered $4.6 million overall from 645 screens in six territories. The horror-comedy with Woody Harrelson, which finished No. 2 domestically, registered, as per Sony, $1.9 million from 309 U.K. locations.
Universal wound up its overseas run of action title "Fast & Furious," which opened internationally in early April, in the Japan...
School holidays in two foreign markets were kind to the weekend's No. 1 title in the U.S. and Canada. Universal's "Couples Retreat," starring Vince Vaughn, opened offshore in Australia and New Zealand for a combined tally of $3 million from 228 sites. The comedy's No. 1 Aussie ranking resulted from $2.8 million drawn from 188 locations for a solid per-screen average of $14,894.
Sony premiered "Zombieland" in the U.K. and Russia and garnered $4.6 million overall from 645 screens in six territories. The horror-comedy with Woody Harrelson, which finished No. 2 domestically, registered, as per Sony, $1.9 million from 309 U.K. locations.
Universal wound up its overseas run of action title "Fast & Furious," which opened internationally in early April, in the Japan...
- 10/11/2009
- by By Frank Segers
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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