PARIS --- Olivier Granier, former head of Studio Canal Plus, and Dominique Farrugia, one-third of the Gallic cult comedy trio Les Nuls,have teamed to form film production company Rigolo Films 2000.
And in an unusual move, the pair have struck a development deal with Studio Canal Plus and with TF1 Film production.
Speaking to Daily Variety, Farrugia noted that the idea of Rigolo is to "produce comedy and adventure films." Gallic comedies have been performing powerfully since the early 1990s, but the adventure genre has fallen out of fashion in France. Farrugia's comic background has led him toward the laughers, "and the fact that nobody is really producing adventure films in France is an incentive to try," said the thesp-turned-producer.
Three on tap
Rigolo has three projects in development. Set to shoot this spring is "Un Jour avec moi" (working title) from first-time helmer Fabio Conversi (director of photography on comedy smashes "Pedale Douce" and "Un Indien dans la ville"). The second project, which lenses in the summer, will be the Farrugia-helmed "Trafic d'influence," followed by "Vidocq, la derniere aventure," to be directed by Alain Chabat --- partner of Farrugia in the Nuls team and helmer of current Gallic comedy hit "Didier."
Development financing for the trio of projects comes from TF1 Film Production and from Studio Canal Plus. Rigolo will have the delicate task of deciding which of the two development partners gets digital rights, as Canal Plus and TF1 are in competing digital platforms.
Eye on comedy
Although Rigolo's main activity will be in the film production sector, the company also has been mandated by Canal Plus to put together a feasibility study on a thematic comedy channel which, if accepted by the paybox, would be part of the Canal Satellite digital package. "The study is completed, now it is up to Canal Plus to decide whether the project will go further," said Granier.
While Farrugia says he is concentrating all his time on Rigolo Films 2000, Granier is shepherding a handful of projects towards the camera, under the auspices of his own production company Galfin.
Currently casting is "Papillon noir," a first pic from veteran advertising director Jean-Luc Breitenstein. The next film will be Isabelle Huppert starrer "La Juge," to be directed by Jean-Pierre Mocky and co-produced with Les Films Alain Sarde. That project is meant to lense in mid-May. By far the most ambitious project is the English-lingo "The Last Templar," which Granier estimates could cost in the region of $50 million and which is currently at the script stage.
And last month, Granier launched Galfin Television, designed to produce toon and drama series. The new operation, run by Xavier Cucuel, is now developing two half-hour animation series along with one drama project.
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