Depardieu/ Gainsbourg join Giannoli
The stellar cast for director-producer Xavier Giannoli’s second feature, A cause de la nuit, is headed by Gérard Depardieu and Charlotte Gainsbourg. The film is scheduled to go into production early in 2004.
Xavier Giannoli, 31, is one of France’s most promising young filmmakers. He began his career making short films and won the Palme D’Or in that category in 1998for L’Interview, and followed that up with a César in 1999. Giannoli made his directorial feature debut with Les Corps impatients, a €1.9m budget feature that also received money from the French "box office advance" scheme. Distributed domestically on 23 April 2003 by Pan Européenne, Les corps impatients was deemed a success (selling around 150,000 tickets) and Giannoli’s having cast Laura Smet, Johnny Halliday’s daughter, and Nathalie Baye ensured it also received excellent media coverage.
A cause de la nuit (Because of the Night) was initially scheduled to go into production this summer, but filming was postponed to January-February 2004 after Depardieu boarded the project. The French icon will be reunited with Charlotte Gainsbourgh with whom he made Merci la vie for Bertrand Blier.
True to form, Giannoli will produce the film in partnership with Edouard Weil, his habitual business partner and co-owner of the Elizabeth Films slate.
(Translated from French)
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