Wild Bunch's next Asterix to star Baer, Deneuve

As the annual Unifrance Rendez-Vous with French Cinema kicks into gear next week, Wild Bunch has exclusively unveiled its slate for the event to Screen. As is its tradition, the company will use the Rendez-Vous as a launch pad for its upcoming French titles.

For the most part, Wild Bunch’s Rendez-Vous slate includes films from directors working on their second or third film and/or with whom the company has an established relationship, something Wild Bunch’s Vincent Maraval says is very gratifying. He calls the group of talent, “the new classics of tomorrow.”

First off the block is the previously announced Asterix And Obelix: God Save Britannia which Laurent Tirard is directing and Fidélité’s Olivier Delbosc and Marc Missonnier are producing. Fresh news regarding the film is that it will be shot in 3D with Edouard Baer starring as Asterix. No stranger to Asterix, Baer memorably waxed on (and on) as Otis in an amusing monologue from the second Asterix film, Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra which Alain Chabat directed in 2002.

Also joining the cast is Catherine Deneuve as the Queen of England along with Valérie Lemercier, Vincent Lacoste and Guillaume Galienne. As previously announced, Gérard Depardieu will once again play Obelix while Fabrice Luchini will step in as Caesar.

Tirard and Gregoire Vigneron’s script for God Save Britannia is based on two of Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo’s oeuvre: Asterix Chez Les Bretons and Asterix Et Les Normands.

Also new from Wild Bunch is the latest film from director Virginie Despentes. Bye Bye Blondie stars Emmanuelle Béart and Béatrice Dalle as former punk teen lovers whose paths cross again after 20 years. Although Despentes is known for controversial filmmaking (Baise-Moi raised many an eyebrow back in 2000), Maraval says this film is a “very romantic love story.” Pascal Greggory co-stars in Blondie, which will be ready for Cannes. Wild Bunch will show a promo at Rendez-Vous. Sébastien De Fonseca and Cédric Walter are producing for Red Star Cinema. Memento is releasing in France.

Philippe Garel’s latest film, That Summer, stars Monica Bellucci and Louis Garel in a story of love and separation. The film will be ready for Venice. That Summer is produced by Edouard Weil for Rectangle Productions. Wild Bunch is releasing the film in France.

Maiwenn’s next up is Poliss, which follows the day-to-day lives of a group of police officers working in Paris’ Child Protection Unit. The ensemble cast includes the director along with Joey Starr, Marino Foïs, Karin Viard, Nicolas Duvauchelle and Riccardo Scamarcio. Alain Attal is producing the film, which will be ready for Cannes and is to be released by Mars in France.

Cedric Kahn’s A Better Life is an ultimately uplifting story of a family suffering under crushing debt. Guillaume Canet, Leïla Bekhti and Slimane Ketthabi star. Mars has French distribution and Kristina Larsen is producing for Les Films du Lendemain.

Christophe Ruggia, who directed the award-winning Le Gone Du Chaâba in 1998, returns with In Turmoil. Clovis Cornillac, Yvan Attal and Mathilde Seigner star in the thriller about a pair of factory workers who unwittingly become involved in an arms trafficking scandal. Currently in post-production, the film will be ready for Cannes. Wild Bunch has also local distribution, while Bertrand Faivre of Le Bureau is producing.

Finally, Wild Bunch will screen Delphine Gleize’s The Moon Child at the Rendez-Vous. The film follows the relationship between a boy suffering from a rare illness which leaves him unable to tolerate exposure to sunlight and the dermatologist who has become a father figure for him over the years. Vincent Lindon, Emmanuelle Devos and Quentin Challal star. Rezo is releasing the film in France in March. Gleize’s usual producer Jérôme Dopfer produces for Les Productions Balthazar.