StudioCanal to show first footage of Ben Stassen’s Thunder at AFM

StudioCanal is set to show first images of Ben Stassen’s new project, the provisionally entitled Thunder and the Enchanted House, at the AFM next week in a special event unveiling the 3D animation to buyers.

The latest adventure tale from the Belgian director of family-oriented fare such as Sammy and the upcoming documentary African Safari 3D, revolves around an adorable stray cat called Thunder who finds shelter in a magical mansion.

StudioCanal will also commence sales at AFM on Jaume Collet-Serra’s recently announced action thriller Non-Stop, reuniting the Spanish director with Liam Neeson, star of his 2011 global hit Unknown. The cast will also include Julianne Moore, Michelle Dockery and Scoot McNairy.  

Fresh from the ongoing success of Taken 2, which has already clocked up $200m at the worldwide box office, Neeson stars as a US air marshal pitted against a mystery passenger who texts him claiming to be on the same flight and threatening to kill a passenger every 20 minutes.

“Operating directly in four major territories, we know how rare and unique an opportunity it is for us to finance and distribute a film of this calibre. We have a terrific script and a winning producer, director and cast,” said StudioCanal’s international sales director Harold van Lier.

He is hoping to show a high concept promo during the market for the picture, which starts shooting on November 1 for an autumn 2013 release.

Other AFM highlights include first footage for Hossein Amini’s Patricia Highsmith adaptation The Two Faces of January, starring Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst. 

The production, produced by Working Title and financed by StudioCanal, has so far shot in Crete and Athens and is currently in Istanbul, before heading to the Ealing Studios in London. 

StudioCanal will also unveil Dan Mazer’s I Give It a Year, which was originally billed as a romantic comedy but has reportedly morphed into more of a comedy, at a private buyers screening.

There will also be new promos for The Last Exorcism Part II and James Griffith’s romantic dance comedy Cuban Fury, starring Nick Frost as an out-of-shape, couch potato who discovers Cuban dancing and perhaps the love of his life.

The AFM slate also contains Michael Winterbottom’s biopic of legendary night clubowner Paul Raymond, starring Steve Coogan. Previously unnamed, it has now been given an official title: The Look of Love.