17/02/2005

Taking advantage of the European Film Market in Berlin, Gaumont introduced Régis Wargnier’s latest project, Man to man, on the opening night of the Berlinale 2005. With this film, adapted from a best seller by Fred Vargas (Have Mercy on Us All, 2002), the famous director explores a new genre, thriller.
The book by Vargas recounts the story of a Parisian police inspector. It starts with the rumour that plague is spreading, a rumour itself spread by a retired sailor who has become a town crier. While this is developing, big black 4, painted upside down on the doors, start appearing everywhere in Paris. Soon after, dead bodies are found, bearing all symptoms of plague. This story became a script co-written by Julian Rappeneau, Ariane Fert, Ariane Marrin, and Laurence Shore.
For this feature film with a budget of about 12 million euros, Gaumont renews its collaboration with LGM Productions. The latter, an independent structure directed by Cyril Colbeau-Justin and Jean Baptiste Dupont, sails a wave of success at the moment, following the release of 36, quai des Orfèvres [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Olivier Marchal, which has sold 2 million tickets in France so far.

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The European Film Market also allowed Gaumont to show the first images of La Piste by Eric Valli (Himalaya, l’enfance d’un chef) which will be released in October 2005, and to keep selling L’Empire des Loups by Chris Nahon (release on the 20th of April 2005), starring Jean Reno and adapted from a novel by Jean-Christophe Grangé. Two other noteworthy projects are on the line-up : Michael Gondry’s first French film, The Science of Sleep (release in January 2006), starring Gaël Garcia Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Alain Chabat, and secondly Francis Véber’s next comedy, La Boulette (=The Blunder, release in March 2006), starring Daniel Auteuil, Gad Elmaleh, Kristin Scott Thomas, Virginie Ledoyen, and Richard Berry.

(Translated from French)