Schoendorffer shoots Spybound for TF1
Patrick Frater in Milan, Nov 04

Irreversible pair and real life couple Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel are to star in 'Spy Bound' (Agents Secrets), a big-budget thriller to be directed by Frederic Schoendorffer.

The Euros15m French-language film is produced by Doberman-producer Eric Neve through his company La Chauve Souris and makes its market splash as the newest addition to the slate of TF1 International. Details of the financing have yet to be confirmed by new TF1 films supremo Patrick Binet.

Also starring Charles Berling ('Ridicule') and veteran Andre Dussolier ('Tanguy'), 'Spy Bound' follows a team of France’s top secret agents as they discover that their department is riddled with corruption.

"The film is aimed at an audience who wants respect by offering a film that is intelligent, but keeps them on the edge of their seat with a story that has dynamic rhythm and many reversals," said Schoendorffer. His 14-week shoot is to begin in March.

Neve and Schoendorffer have already assembled an impressive technical team. Jean-Pierre Sauvaire, whose credits include 'Le Boulet' and 'Vidocq', will handle cinematography. Music will be by Bruno Couleis ('Winged Migration', 'Crimson Rivers' and 'Vidocq'), with costumes by Virginie Monteil ('Harry Is Here To Help').

Gaga picks up Bellucci
Melanie Rodier in Milan, Nov 06

Japan's Gaga has acquired local distribution rights to 'Unruly', yet another new film starring real-life hot couple Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel.

Sold by Rome-based outfit Surf Film, 'Unruly' sees Cassel play the role of a man who returns to Marseilles, after a stint in jail, only to find that life in his home town has radically changed.

The newly-completed film was written and directed by Philippe Berenger, and produced by Ultramarine, Cinex Films, Roc Films and Canal Plus. It has also been sold to Russia's Fort Media TV company.

(AP Photo/PA, Toby Melville)

UK Censor Passes 'Irreversible' Film Uncut
Mon Oct 21,10:17 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - A vivid nine-minute rape scene in the film "Irreversible" has been left uncut by British censors after they consulted a forensic psychiatrist.

The British Board Of Film Classification (BBFC) has given Argentine-born Gaspar Noe's film an "18" certification.

"The psychiatrist agreed with the board that the scene is a harrowing and vivid portrayal of the brutality of rape," said the BBFC in a statement Monday. "However, it contains no explicit sexual images and is not designed to titillate."

"Irreversible" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last May where it disturbed and repulsed audiences, with many guests walking out in disgust.

Many, however, also praised its artistry, its clever camera work and its unrelenting, ultra-realist examination of the pure anger that drives a desire for revenge.

"Irreversible" features stomach-churning violence as well as rape, and a script that consists almost entirely of expletives against homosexuals and women.

Shown anti-chronologically -- the murder of the pimp first followed by sequences taking the viewer back through events -- the film opens in Rectum, a sado-masochist gay club, and ends with actress Monica Bellucci 's character happily discovering she is pregnant.

Bellucci's real-life husband Vincent Cassel plays her boyfriend in the film, a drug-crazed animal seeking to avenge his girlfriend's rape at the hands of a pimp.

Bellucci herself has said: "You leave the film with something sweet, soft and beautiful. It's almost as if you forget the violence at the beginning." The BBFC added that it would review its "18" rating if "Irreversible" was submitted for video release.

Sales thrive as Toronto heats up
Tue Sep 10, 1:29 AM ET

By Zorianna Kit
TORONTO (The Hollywood Reporter) --- A slew of acquisitions took place Monday at the Toronto International Film Festival involving Lions Gate Films, Miramax Films and Newmarket Films, the newly launched distribution arm of Newmarket Capital Group.

In a deal worth mid-six figures, Lions Gate picked up U.S. distribution rights to the controversial French-language film "Irreversible," starring Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel.

The company is planning a spring 2003 release for the film, which will screen at the festival in the Visions Program section Thursday and Saturday.

Directed by Gaspar Noe, "Irreversible" follows a woman who is raped by a stranger, prompting her friend and ex-husband to take justice into their own hands. The film has been described as extremely violent, mostly due to an extended graphic rape scene.

"Gasper Noe has created a masterpiece," Lions Gate Films Releasing president Tom Ortenberg said. "It is both brilliant and controversial. It's a perfect compliment to the Lions Gate release slate."

Lions Gate bought the film from Muse Prods., with Chris Hanley and Phil Rosen negotiating on behalf of Muse. Lions Gate was repped by Ortenberg, Peter Block, Jason Constantine and Wendy Jaffe.