Top French Animation House Folivari Sets ‘Carmen’ Adaptation from Sébastien Laudenbach (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Tim Guinee is set to star in The Staircase, HBO Max’s limited series drama adaptation based on the true-crime docuseries. He joins previously announced Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Rosemarie DeWitt, Juliette Binoche, Parker Posey, Odessa Young, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Dane DeHaan, Olivia DeJonge, Sophie Turner and Michael Stuhlbarg..

Ben Croll Dotted by hilltop views and an historic city center, France’s southwestern city of Angoulême had certainly played host to a handful of live-action shoots in recent years.But for the most part, the commune, just under 50,000 strong, had made its name as the country’s cartoonist capital, the place where Gallic scribblers go to burnish their reputation at the Intl.

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Stuhlbarg is set as a lead in The Staircase, HBO Max’s limited series drama adaptation based on the true-crime docuseries. He joins previously announced Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Rosemarie DeWitt, Juliette Binoche, Parker Posey, Odessa Young, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Dane DeHaan, Olivia DeJonge and Sophie Turner.

Ed Meza @edmezavarGerman distributor Der Filmverleih in Stuttgart has boarded Berlin-based Films in Motion’s World War II trilogy penned by American writer J. Frank James.The films, in various stages of development, include “The Face,” produced with Leipzig-based Departures Film and starring Ludwig Trepte (“Deutschland 86”).

Olivia DeJonge (The Society) has joined the cast of The Staircase, HBO Max’s limited series drama adaptation based on the true-crime docuseries. She joins previously announced cast members Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Rosemarie DeWitt, Juliette Binoche, Parker Posey, Sophie Turner, and Dane DeHaan.

Charades Films has boarded Carlota Pereda’s rural thriller “Piggy” (“Cerdita”), one of the most awaited feature debuts of the year from Spain.Written and directed by Pereda, “Piggy” is produced by Morena Films and France’s Backup Media, the outfit behind “Still Alice,” “Submergence” and Ari Folman’s Cannes entry “Where Is Anne Frank.” Charades will handle world sales rights on “Piggy,” while Filmax, a frequent backer of first time directors, will distribute the film in Spain.Starring Laura

Apple TV+ has greenlit Liaison, an English and French-language thriller series starring Vincent Cassel (Black Swan) and Eva Green (The Luminaries).

EXCLUSIVE: Grindstone Entertainment Group has picked up North American rights to The Gateway, the crime thriller starring Shea Whigham, Olivia Munn, Frank Grillo, Bruce Dern, Taryn Manning, Keith David, and Mark Boone Junior.

Dawn French is an incredibly proud mum to daughter Billie and delighted fans on Instagram this week when she shared a very rare snapshot of her only child.The actress shares Billie with her ex-husband Lenny Henry – the former couple were married from 1984 until 2010 – and prefers to keep her daughter out of the spotlight.MORE: Dawn French stuns fans with major change to trademark bob haircut WATCH: Dawn French reveals how her husband proposedBut on Monday, Dawn reposted an image previously sent

Dawn French has released an extremely touching tribute to her late father Denys, who passed away 44 years ago. The 63-year-old star took to Instagram on Father's Day to share a throwback photograph of her younger self alongside her dad and told her followers just how much she misses him."44 years without you but miss you a lot.

Emiliano Granada Following on its acquisition in May of “The Island of Thirty Coffins,” Munich-based Beta Film is doubling down on French production, acquiring international rights to the six-hour France 3 crime thriller “Presumed Guilty.”Written by Franck Ollivier (“Zodiaque”), the limited series follows Lola, played by Garance Thenault (“La Mante”), who travels to a town on the Brittany coast for a job interview.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentUgo Bienvenu (aka Ugo), the popular French illustrator and comics author of “Préférence système,” is partnering up with veteran producer Valerie Schermann (“The Red Turtle,” “Paris, 13th District”) on his animated feature debut “Arco.”An ambitious science-fiction film, “Arco” is being co-developed and co-produced by Remembers, the outfit launched by Bienvenu and Félix de Givry, and Schermann at Akaba.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentOscar-nominated French actor Bérénice Bejo (“The Artist”) has joined Pierfrancesco Favino (“The Traitor”), Nanni Moretti, and the Italian cast of romantic drama “Il Colibrì,” which has started shooting in Rome.Fandango Sales is launching sales at the virtual Cannes market on this high-profile drama directed by Francesca Archibugi (“A Question of the Heart”) based on the eponymous novel by Sandro Veronesi, winner of Italy’s top literary prize, the Premio

Ben Croll Speaking at a Monday morning panel dedicated to emerging female talent in the French animation sphere, filmmakers Marine Blin (“What Resonates in Silence”), Mélanie Robert-Tourneur (“Hold Me Tight,” pictured above), and Kajika Aki Ferrazzini (“MOM”) spoke candidly about pet obsessions and shared approaches while breaking news of future projects.The Belgium-based Robert-Tourneur (who uses they/them pronouns) will build on their previous film’s visually symbolic and narratively oblique

Wild Bunch is getting deeper into animation with the launch of a new sales company it is setting up with French animation specialist Gebeka.

Every passing day is another day closer to the Cannes premiere of Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” and you can expect plenty of updates regarding the auteur director’s buzzy, star-studded period dramedy in the coming weeks. Today, we were afforded a tantalizing glimpse at the original soundtrack for “The French Dispatch,” which looks to be yet another top-shelf addition to Anderson’s roster of indelible cinematic playlists.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentWhile U.S. blockbusters deserted screens in 2020, French animated features had 10-year record-breaking performance at the local box office last year, according to a study conducted by the CNC (National Film Board) and unveiled on the opening day of Annecy Film Festival.

Ed Banger Records, the legendary French label behind Justice, Uffie, and DJ Mehdi, has added a new artist to its roster: Mad Rey, the house producer who turned dancefloors everywhere up with "Quartier sex" in 2013. His new single for the label is "Joe Da Zin," a collaboration with Parisian MC Jwles.

French Montana has released a music video for his new single ‘FWMGAB’ which arrived on Friday (June 11).The new track – which stands for ‘Fuck With Me Get a Bag’ – samples Jerry Rivera’s ‘Amores Como El Nuestro’, which pop fans may recognise from Shakira and Wyclef Jean‘s 2006 hit single ‘Hips Don’t Lie’.The clip sees French rapping in various New York locations – including, at one point, on the very top of the Statue of Liberty.