Newly formed LA-based production company RendezVous launched by commercials director Kevin Dole has lined up its inaugural project, romantic comedy Kiss The Frog.

Dole has used his dual US-French citizenship to secure the backing of Film France on the sub-$10m project, which has been scheduled for an April 2010 start in an undetermined locale in France.

Media 8 will handle international sales and the producers are out to cast. Dole co-wrote the screenplay with Bob Griffard and Robert Huttinger and will produce with Bonnie Bruckheimer.

Stephan Manpearl will serve as executive producer and supervise marketing on the film. Funding comes from equity investors, French subsidies, European soft money and select international pre-sales through Media 8. The producers hope to announce a North American distributor at AFM.

Kiss The Frog follows the journey of a 35-year-old American marketing executive from Texas who travels to a remote French village in search of her real father and unexpectedly falls in love with a celebrated snail farmer.

“France is a country which has been committed to the art of cinema for over 100 years and we work diligently to support this native industry and encourage the production of French films,” Franck Priot, deputy director of Film France said.

“This production would almost entirely be shot in France, and Mr Dole intends to hire many French cast and crew. In our experience, such a commitment to the use of French resources coming from a foreign film, especially an American film, is exceptional.”

“Kiss The Frog is a film from the heart, with heart,” Dole said. “We look forward to creating not only a beautiful and funny film but a intercultural experience. Similar to Under The Tuscan Sun while comically escalating in the vein of Waking Ned Devine, Kiss The Frog blends romantic intrigue and colourful characters with the appeal of the French countryside and seductive cuisine.”

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