31/01/2011

Saïd Ben Saïd’s new company SBS Productions is getting off to a glittering start: it begins shooting today at Bry-sur-Marne Studios on Roman Polanski’s God of Carnage and has just announced that it will produce Brian de Palma’s Passion, a remake of Alain Corneau’s Love Crime [+see also:
trailer
film profile].

Co-produced by Germany’s Constantin Films (in mourning for its founder Bernd Eichinger), God of Carnage stars US actors Jodie Foster (who whilst in France will preside over the César Awards ceremony on February 25) and John C. Reilly, Brit actress Kate Winslet and Austria’s Christoph Waltz. Adapted from French playwright Yasmina Reza’s hit stage play, the film will centre on two couples from New York who meet each other after a fight has taken place between their children. But their initial politeness quickly wears off and the behind-closed-doors encounter turns into a poisonous confrontation.

Shooting at Bry-sur-Marne will last six weeks and SBS Productions will make the most of the European Film Market at the 61st Berlinale (February 10-20, 2011) to complete pre-sales, which have got off to a very good start. The film has been bought for France by Wild Bunch (which also holds the UK and Scandinavian rights), for Italy by Medusa, for Eastern Europe by SPI, for Greece by Village Roadshow, for Portugal by Lusomundo and for Switzerland by Ascot Elite. German rights are held by co-producer Constantin Film.

Ben Saïd, who founded SBS Productions after several years of association with UGC through SBS Films, has also revealed another top-flight production project for De Palma will helm a remake of Corneau’s Love Crime (see news) this summer. The cast, who will take up the roles played by Kristin Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier, will be unveiled in May.

Finally, SBS Films’s latest production, André Téchiné’s Venice-set Unforgivable (see news) – adapted from Philippe Djian’s same-named novel and starring André Dussollier, Carole Bouquet, Mélanie Thierry and Adriana Asti – is still in post-production. TF1 International is handling international sales.

(Translated from French)