16/07/2003 - L’outremangeur, out today on 250 Gallic screens stars the former Man United striker and renowned wag. French frontline challenge to US summer dominance of home market

Gallic audiences will be able to see for themselves whether his acting is anything as good as his soccer, when the enfant terrible of international football, Eric Cantona, makes his acting debut in L'Outremangeur (The Overeater). The film is out on 250 French screens today - 16 July.
Directed by Thierry Binisti, the former Manchester United striker plays a heavyweight Marseille-based police commissioner with a tendency to overeat.
Produced by Jean-Louis Livi and Film par Film, L’outremangeur was co-produced by state broadcaster TF1 Films Production who are handling the domestic distribution through their TFM subsidiary.

This year’s French summer line up is significantly more substantial than in recent years. Today sees the release of a number of domestic and European features that, it is hoped, will stand up to some stiff competition from US blockbusters.
The releases include Franco-Luxembourg-Portuguese (Les Films de Mai/Samsa Film/Fado Filmes) co-production, Nha fala [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Flora Gomes, released on 30 screens by Pierre Grise Distribution almost a year after premiering at the 2002 Venice Film Festival.
Pirates Distribution, the joint venture set up by producers Humbert Balsan, Paolo Branco and Gilles Sandoz, is releasing Va, petite! by Alain Guesnier, starring Laurent Lucas ( Qui a tué Bambi? & Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien), produced by Agora Film, and co-produced by Maïa Films and Saga Film.
It remains to be seen whether these titles can generate the sort of positive word-of-mouth that attracted 620,000 people to The Mystery of the Yellow Room over a 4-week period, without any significant drop-off in attendance.

(Translated from French)