Last summer, Paul Schrader was about to start shooting “Oh, Canada,” his adaptation of Russell Banks’ novel about a troubled artist taking stock of his life, when the major actors union went on strike. For a second, it looked like all that hard work, passion and planning might be for nothing — with performers on the picket lines and major studios holding out on their contract demands, it was hard to see how cameras would ever roll on the low-budget indie.
“Everything shut down,” said Brian Beckmann, the CFO and COO of Arclight Films, which is selling international rights to the film. “We were in this position where we had spent all this money and secured all this talent and we weren’t sure we could move forward until the strikes were over.”
Because it was made outside the studio system, “Oh, Canada” was able to get a union waiver and...
“Everything shut down,” said Brian Beckmann, the CFO and COO of Arclight Films, which is selling international rights to the film. “We were in this position where we had spent all this money and secured all this talent and we weren’t sure we could move forward until the strikes were over.”
Because it was made outside the studio system, “Oh, Canada” was able to get a union waiver and...
- 5/14/2024
- by Brent Lang, John Hopewell and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French film production skyrocketed in 2023 marking a return to pre-pandemic levels as budgets soared, according to an annual report from the Cnc, the country’s national film organisation.
A total of 298 films were approved by the Cnc last year, driven by French-initiated films which totalled 236, up from 208 in 2022.
There were 18 animated films compared to 13 in 2022; but documentaries dipped from 54 in 2022 to just 40 in 2023.
International co-productions maintained pre-Covid levels with 120 co-productions clocked over the year, in line with the 2017-2019 average of 119 films.
However, just 40.3% of total films were co-productions, down from 50.2% in 2022, but still in line with the pre-pandemic 2017-...
A total of 298 films were approved by the Cnc last year, driven by French-initiated films which totalled 236, up from 208 in 2022.
There were 18 animated films compared to 13 in 2022; but documentaries dipped from 54 in 2022 to just 40 in 2023.
International co-productions maintained pre-Covid levels with 120 co-productions clocked over the year, in line with the 2017-2019 average of 119 films.
However, just 40.3% of total films were co-productions, down from 50.2% in 2022, but still in line with the pre-pandemic 2017-...
- 3/27/2024
- ScreenDaily
French film production skyrocketed in 2023 marking a return to pre-pandemic levels as budgets soared, according to an annual report from the Cnc, the country’s national film organisation.
A total of 298 films were approved by the Cnc last year, driven by French-initiated films which totalled 236, up from 208 in 2022.
There were 18 animated films compared to 13 in 2022; but documentaries dipped from 54 in 2022 to just 40 in 2023.
International co-productions maintained pre-Covid levels with 120 co-productions clocked over the year, in line with the 2017-2019 average of 119 films.
However, just 40.3% of total films were co-productions, down from 50.2% in 2022, but still in line with the pre-pandemic 2017-...
A total of 298 films were approved by the Cnc last year, driven by French-initiated films which totalled 236, up from 208 in 2022.
There were 18 animated films compared to 13 in 2022; but documentaries dipped from 54 in 2022 to just 40 in 2023.
International co-productions maintained pre-Covid levels with 120 co-productions clocked over the year, in line with the 2017-2019 average of 119 films.
However, just 40.3% of total films were co-productions, down from 50.2% in 2022, but still in line with the pre-pandemic 2017-...
- 3/27/2024
- ScreenDaily
Daniel Brühl is set to star as late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld in “Kaiser Karl,” the anticipated Disney+ original series which Gaumont (“Lupin”) is currently producing. The show is currently shooting in France, Monaco and Italy.
The six-part series will chronicle the rise of Karl Lagerfeld through the world of 1970s Parisian high fashion. In 1972, a 38-year-old Karl Lagerfeld aspired to become the most famous French fashion designer, at a time when Yves Saint Laurent reigned supreme. Lagerfeld went on to become the head designer and creative director of Chanel, Fendi and his own label.
The series will also explore the rivalry between Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent’s partner Pierre Berge, as well as his love story with Jacques de Bascher.
Along with depicting the clan rivalries and ego battles of the high fashion world, the series will also portray the epic partying and decadence, tragic love affairs and...
The six-part series will chronicle the rise of Karl Lagerfeld through the world of 1970s Parisian high fashion. In 1972, a 38-year-old Karl Lagerfeld aspired to become the most famous French fashion designer, at a time when Yves Saint Laurent reigned supreme. Lagerfeld went on to become the head designer and creative director of Chanel, Fendi and his own label.
The series will also explore the rivalry between Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent’s partner Pierre Berge, as well as his love story with Jacques de Bascher.
Along with depicting the clan rivalries and ego battles of the high fashion world, the series will also portray the epic partying and decadence, tragic love affairs and...
- 3/8/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
France’s most famous Catholic priest, Abbé Pierre, will be portrayed in a €15 million ($17.5 million) biopic movie produced by Snd and Wassim Beji, who previously teamed on “Yves Saint Laurent.”
Titled “Abbé Pierre, a Century of Devotion,” the movie will be directed by Frederic Tellier with Benjamin Lavernhe (“The Speech”) playing the title role, alongside Emmanuelle Bercot.
Snd, the commercial arm of French TV network M6, is producing the film with Beji at Wy Productions and will launch sales at the American Film Market. “Abbé Pierre” will start shooting in December.
Tellier, who depicted the world of firefighters in the critically acclaimed film “Through the Fire,” has done extensive research on the French priest’s legacy in order to chart his life.
Born and raised a Catholic, Henri Groues became a member of the Resistance during World War II, an experience which shaped him and catalyzed his desire to help others.
Titled “Abbé Pierre, a Century of Devotion,” the movie will be directed by Frederic Tellier with Benjamin Lavernhe (“The Speech”) playing the title role, alongside Emmanuelle Bercot.
Snd, the commercial arm of French TV network M6, is producing the film with Beji at Wy Productions and will launch sales at the American Film Market. “Abbé Pierre” will start shooting in December.
Tellier, who depicted the world of firefighters in the critically acclaimed film “Through the Fire,” has done extensive research on the French priest’s legacy in order to chart his life.
Born and raised a Catholic, Henri Groues became a member of the Resistance during World War II, an experience which shaped him and catalyzed his desire to help others.
- 10/28/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
France’s heroic leader Charles de Gaulle might have lent his name to airports and famed metropolitan intersections as one of the previous century’s most pivotal political figures. But save for a TV film here and a documentary there, he surprisingly has never been granted a major biopic of his own before. In that regard, writer-director Gabriel Le Bomin’s epically scaled, mainstream wartime drama “De Gaulle” feels sorely overdue, which makes it all the more frustrating that it’s saddle with a lackluster script unworthy of its larger-than-life subject and cookie-cutter visual aesthetics.
Then again, perhaps no cinematic endeavor could really do justice to the significant legacy of de Gaulle, a leader who shepherded Free France Forces against the Nazi Germany as an army officer, helped rebuild democracy in his nation in the mid ’40s as the head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic and served...
Then again, perhaps no cinematic endeavor could really do justice to the significant legacy of de Gaulle, a leader who shepherded Free France Forces against the Nazi Germany as an army officer, helped rebuild democracy in his nation in the mid ’40s as the head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic and served...
- 10/20/2021
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety Film + TV
"If history makes men, some men make history." Samuel Goldwyn Films has released an official US trailer for the French biopic drama De Gaulle, about the legendary French politician Charles de Gaulle. The film takes place during World War II, just as France is dealing with the Nazi army invading their country. It already opened in France last year, and is finally arriving in the US this fall. Set in France, June 1940. The de Gaulle couple is confronted with the military and political collapse of France... Charles de Gaulle joins London while Yvonne, his wife, finds herself with her three children on the road of the exodus. Starring Lambert Wilson as Charles de Gaulle, with a cast including Isabelle Carré as his wife Yvonne, plus Olivier Gourmet, Catherine Mouchet, Pierre Hancisse, Sophie Quinton, Gilles Cohen, Laurent Stocker, Philippe Laudenbach, and Tim Hudson as Churchill. This French biopic seems as campy...
- 8/31/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to the drama De Gaulle, with plans to release it in theaters and on digital platforms on October 22.
De Gaulle is a biopic centered on Charles De Gaulle (Lambert Wilson), the French military officer and statesmen who led government-in-exile Free France against Nazi Germany during World War II.
It picks up with the newly appointed French General in May of 1940, as he leaves his wife and children behind to join the Government in Paris. Facing the defeatist attitude of French Chief of State Philippe Pétain, who is ready to negotiate with Hitler, De Gaulle has only one purpose: to continue fighting.
Gabriel Le Bomin (Our Patriots) wrote and directed the film, which also stars Isabelle Carré (Romantics Anonymous), Olivier Gourmet (The Son) and more.
Aïssa Djabri and Farid Lahouassa served as the project’s producers, with Christopher Granier-Deferre exec producing.
The acquisition...
De Gaulle is a biopic centered on Charles De Gaulle (Lambert Wilson), the French military officer and statesmen who led government-in-exile Free France against Nazi Germany during World War II.
It picks up with the newly appointed French General in May of 1940, as he leaves his wife and children behind to join the Government in Paris. Facing the defeatist attitude of French Chief of State Philippe Pétain, who is ready to negotiate with Hitler, De Gaulle has only one purpose: to continue fighting.
Gabriel Le Bomin (Our Patriots) wrote and directed the film, which also stars Isabelle Carré (Romantics Anonymous), Olivier Gourmet (The Son) and more.
Aïssa Djabri and Farid Lahouassa served as the project’s producers, with Christopher Granier-Deferre exec producing.
The acquisition...
- 8/26/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Snd, the commercial arm of French TV network M6, is set to kick off international sales this fall on “Kandisha” and newly-acquired family movie “Pil’s Adventures,” beginning at the Sitges Film Festival and the virtual AFM market.
“Pil’s Adventures” is a CGI animated feature produced by Tat Productions, the well-established French banner behind “The Jungle Bunch” and “Terra Willy.” Now in production, the film was pitched at Cartoon Movie and is expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2021. In the absence of a physical market, Snd will introduce “Pil’s Adventures” to buyers this month with the script, a 10-minute clip of first footage and a print presentation of all the characters, backdrops and production.
Directed by Julien Fournet, the film follows the adventures of Pil, a brave, orphaned young girl who lives in the medieval city of Misty Rock. One day, a cruel regent curses Roland,...
“Pil’s Adventures” is a CGI animated feature produced by Tat Productions, the well-established French banner behind “The Jungle Bunch” and “Terra Willy.” Now in production, the film was pitched at Cartoon Movie and is expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2021. In the absence of a physical market, Snd will introduce “Pil’s Adventures” to buyers this month with the script, a 10-minute clip of first footage and a print presentation of all the characters, backdrops and production.
Directed by Julien Fournet, the film follows the adventures of Pil, a brave, orphaned young girl who lives in the medieval city of Misty Rock. One day, a cruel regent curses Roland,...
- 10/13/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Film is now playing on some 1,000 screens across France.
Paris-based Memento Distribution’s high-risk decision to reboot the stalled theatrical release of comedy-drama How To Be A Good Wife in unison with the reopening of French cinemas on June 22, after a 14-week Covid-19 closure, appears to have paid off.
Company chief Alexandre Mallet-Guy confirmed to Screen on Wednesday (July 1) that the film had drawn 209,000 spectators over nine days from June 22-30, for a gross of around $1.6m
Total spectators for the feature, which was in cinemas for just four days before French cinemas closed on March 14, now stands at 380,000. The running total stands at $2.9m.
Paris-based Memento Distribution’s high-risk decision to reboot the stalled theatrical release of comedy-drama How To Be A Good Wife in unison with the reopening of French cinemas on June 22, after a 14-week Covid-19 closure, appears to have paid off.
Company chief Alexandre Mallet-Guy confirmed to Screen on Wednesday (July 1) that the film had drawn 209,000 spectators over nine days from June 22-30, for a gross of around $1.6m
Total spectators for the feature, which was in cinemas for just four days before French cinemas closed on March 14, now stands at 380,000. The running total stands at $2.9m.
- 7/1/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
Europe’s biggest nation of moviegoers, France, saw its theaters reopen with a bang on June 22 and managed to sell between 850,000 and 900,000 admissions through Sunday.
It’s roughly 50% less than an average week in June, but considering the dearth of fresh releases, the heat wave, which plagued most of the country last week, and fears of a second wave of Covid-19, it’s an “outstanding result that is beyond our most optimistic forecast,” said Eric Marti at Comscore France. Theaters had been shutdown for more than two months.
The admission tally is particularly strong since not all theaters were open during the first part of the week. Indeed, only about 60% of theaters had reopened on Monday and Tuesday, and by Wednesday there were 85% of them, said Marti. Today, most of France’s 2,040 cinemas and 5,700 screens are active.
“As many as 660,000 admissions were sold between Wednesday and Sunday, when almost all the venues had reopened,...
It’s roughly 50% less than an average week in June, but considering the dearth of fresh releases, the heat wave, which plagued most of the country last week, and fears of a second wave of Covid-19, it’s an “outstanding result that is beyond our most optimistic forecast,” said Eric Marti at Comscore France. Theaters had been shutdown for more than two months.
The admission tally is particularly strong since not all theaters were open during the first part of the week. Indeed, only about 60% of theaters had reopened on Monday and Tuesday, and by Wednesday there were 85% of them, said Marti. Today, most of France’s 2,040 cinemas and 5,700 screens are active.
“As many as 660,000 admissions were sold between Wednesday and Sunday, when almost all the venues had reopened,...
- 6/29/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Upi France, Memento, Pyramide and Arizona reveals strategies after three-month hiatus.
France’s 2,000 cinemas will begin reopening their doors today (Monday June 22) after a 14-week closure which was enforced on March 14 as part of the country’s Covid-19 pandemic lockdown measures. The country’s theatres have never gone dark for such a prolonged period in the 120-year history of cinema, not even during World War Two,
“The large majority of cinemas will reopen, those remaining closed, are mainly those that tend to shut over the summer in any case, but it’s very marginal,” said Marc-Olivier Sebbag, managing director of...
France’s 2,000 cinemas will begin reopening their doors today (Monday June 22) after a 14-week closure which was enforced on March 14 as part of the country’s Covid-19 pandemic lockdown measures. The country’s theatres have never gone dark for such a prolonged period in the 120-year history of cinema, not even during World War Two,
“The large majority of cinemas will reopen, those remaining closed, are mainly those that tend to shut over the summer in any case, but it’s very marginal,” said Marc-Olivier Sebbag, managing director of...
- 6/22/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
After being shuttered for almost three months, France’s movie theaters will be allowed to reopen on June 22, confirmed France’s prime minister Édouard Philippe in a televised address on Thursday.
Philippe said cinemas will be permitted to reopen everywhere across France on June 22 (or June 24 since releases are scheduled every Wednesday in the country), while restaurants, bars and gardens will reopen on June 2. Exhibitors will have just under four weeks to prepare for the restart and coordinate accordingly with distributors. Jocelyn Bouyssy, the boss of Cgr Cinemas, France’s second largest cinema circuit, said most exhibitors in France were expecting a reopening in early July and will hardly have any movies to show during the first week of relaunch.
Meanwhile, French exhibitors have drafted health guidelines for welcoming moviegoers, which were submitted to the health minister last week for approval. Some of the guidelines include capping admissions to 50% of auditorium capacities.
Philippe said cinemas will be permitted to reopen everywhere across France on June 22 (or June 24 since releases are scheduled every Wednesday in the country), while restaurants, bars and gardens will reopen on June 2. Exhibitors will have just under four weeks to prepare for the restart and coordinate accordingly with distributors. Jocelyn Bouyssy, the boss of Cgr Cinemas, France’s second largest cinema circuit, said most exhibitors in France were expecting a reopening in early July and will hardly have any movies to show during the first week of relaunch.
Meanwhile, French exhibitors have drafted health guidelines for welcoming moviegoers, which were submitted to the health minister last week for approval. Some of the guidelines include capping admissions to 50% of auditorium capacities.
- 5/28/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French cinemas have been shut since March 14 due to Covid-19 pandemic.
The French box office fell to its lowest level in 23 years in the first quarter of 2020 as audiences dwindled and then cinemas were shutdown outright due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the monthly box office report by France’s National Cinema Centre (Cnc).
France’s some 2,000 cinemas, with roughly 6,000 screens, registered just 5.95 million admissions in March 2020, for a box office of around $42.6, against 18.75 admissions ($134.4) in March 2019.
The Cnc said this represented a 68.3% fall year-on-year. It said the drop in cinema-going was directly linked to Covid-19 pandemic and closure...
The French box office fell to its lowest level in 23 years in the first quarter of 2020 as audiences dwindled and then cinemas were shutdown outright due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the monthly box office report by France’s National Cinema Centre (Cnc).
France’s some 2,000 cinemas, with roughly 6,000 screens, registered just 5.95 million admissions in March 2020, for a box office of around $42.6, against 18.75 admissions ($134.4) in March 2019.
The Cnc said this represented a 68.3% fall year-on-year. It said the drop in cinema-going was directly linked to Covid-19 pandemic and closure...
- 4/6/2020
- by 1100380¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Distributors welcome measure but say they still aim to release their films theatrically.
The French government passed a temporary measure on Friday (March 20) softening France’s strict media chronology as part of a larger emergency bill aimed at tackling the coronavirus pandemic and the economic fallout.
The main aim of the bill was to give the French authorities greater power to restrict movement and gatherings as the country battles to slow the spread of Covid-19, but it also included a number of measures aimed at protecting jobs and supporting the economy.
France’s exhibitors and distributors have been hard hit...
The French government passed a temporary measure on Friday (March 20) softening France’s strict media chronology as part of a larger emergency bill aimed at tackling the coronavirus pandemic and the economic fallout.
The main aim of the bill was to give the French authorities greater power to restrict movement and gatherings as the country battles to slow the spread of Covid-19, but it also included a number of measures aimed at protecting jobs and supporting the economy.
France’s exhibitors and distributors have been hard hit...
- 3/20/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
A mix of comedies such as Isabelle Huppert starrer “Mama Weed” and Michaël Youn’s “Divorce Club,” and director-driven titles like Claus Drexel’s “Under the Stars of Paris” were among the most buzzed-about market premieres of the UniFrance Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. The five-day showcase kicked off Jan. 17 with the world premiere of Martin Provost’s “How to Be a Good Wife” with Juliette Binoche, and wrapped Monday.
“Divorce Club” stars Arnaud Ducret and François-Xavier Demaison as a pair of 40-something divorcees who set up a dedicated membership club. Represented in international markets by Snd, the film just won the top prize at the Alpe d’Huez Comedy Film Festival.
Jean-Paul Salomé’s “Mama Weed” (pictured) stars Oscar-nominated actress Huppert as a French-Arabic translator working for the anti-drug squad in Paris. Le Pacte has now sold the film in major territories. “Mama Weed” was also presented at the Alpe d’Huez festival.
“Divorce Club” stars Arnaud Ducret and François-Xavier Demaison as a pair of 40-something divorcees who set up a dedicated membership club. Represented in international markets by Snd, the film just won the top prize at the Alpe d’Huez Comedy Film Festival.
Jean-Paul Salomé’s “Mama Weed” (pictured) stars Oscar-nominated actress Huppert as a French-Arabic translator working for the anti-drug squad in Paris. Le Pacte has now sold the film in major territories. “Mama Weed” was also presented at the Alpe d’Huez festival.
- 1/20/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Showcasing the wide scope and many nuances of French comedies, Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius’s “The Lost Prince,” “Mama Weed” with Isabelle Huppert (pictured), “The Lion” with Dany Boon, and “Welcome to the Jungle” with Catherine Deneuve are having their market premieres at the 22nd edition of the UniFrance Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in Paris, which runs Jan. 16-20.
Sold by Studiocanal, “The Lost Prince” is fantasy-filled family comedy headlined by Omar Sy (“Intouchables), François Damiens (“Heartbreaker”) and Bérénice Bejo (“The Artist”).
“Mama Weed” directed by Jean-Paul Salomé, is a crime comedy starring Huppert, the Oscar-nominated actress, as a French-Arabic translator working for the anti-drug squad in Paris. Le Pacte is handling international sales.
“The Lion” is an action comedy about Romain (Philippe Katerine), a psychologist who is fascinated by his patient, Leo Milan (Boon), who claims to be a highly-trained international spy.
Helmed by Hugo Benamozig and David Caviglioli,...
Sold by Studiocanal, “The Lost Prince” is fantasy-filled family comedy headlined by Omar Sy (“Intouchables), François Damiens (“Heartbreaker”) and Bérénice Bejo (“The Artist”).
“Mama Weed” directed by Jean-Paul Salomé, is a crime comedy starring Huppert, the Oscar-nominated actress, as a French-Arabic translator working for the anti-drug squad in Paris. Le Pacte is handling international sales.
“The Lion” is an action comedy about Romain (Philippe Katerine), a psychologist who is fascinated by his patient, Leo Milan (Boon), who claims to be a highly-trained international spy.
Helmed by Hugo Benamozig and David Caviglioli,...
- 1/17/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The lack of a blockbuster English-language film from Luc Besson has been cited as a cause.
French cinema generated 40.5m admissions internationally for overall box office receipts of $272.5m (€244.4m), according to provisional figures released by French cinema export agency Unifrance on Thursday.
The figure of 40.5m is in line with last year’s provisional figure of 40m but down 7% on the definitive 2018 figure of 43.7m admissions, which is traditionally published in October. The 2018 performance in turn represented a 50% drop on 2017 when international admissions stood at 82.6m.
The final outcome for 2019 remains to be seen but it is expected to...
French cinema generated 40.5m admissions internationally for overall box office receipts of $272.5m (€244.4m), according to provisional figures released by French cinema export agency Unifrance on Thursday.
The figure of 40.5m is in line with last year’s provisional figure of 40m but down 7% on the definitive 2018 figure of 43.7m admissions, which is traditionally published in October. The 2018 performance in turn represented a 50% drop on 2017 when international admissions stood at 82.6m.
The final outcome for 2019 remains to be seen but it is expected to...
- 1/16/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.