Chanel biopics in fashion (THR, VAR, SCR)
By Nancy Tartaglione-Vialatte
Warner Bros. International has boarded the Audrey Tautou-led biopic "Coco Before Chanel." Warners will distribute the film and joins France�s Haut et Court and Cine-@ as producer. The film is one of a pair of Chanel biopics about to face off in France. Anne Fontaine will start shooting �Coco Before Chanel� Sept. 15 in Paris while Jan Kounen is gearing up to shoot his �Chanel and Stravinsky� starting on September 22.
Fontaine, whose �The Girl From Monaco� is currently currying favor with French audiences, adaptated Edmonde Charles-Roux's biography "L'irreguliere" which focuses on Chanel's early years. Camille Fontaine collaborated and Oscar-winner Christopher Hampton acted as script consultant.
The project has been a hot title for French sales company Films Distribution since it began financing earlier this year. Warner Bros. Entertainment France will release the film in its home territory in 2009. Internationally, the film will be handled by WPI and other distributors.
Given the shuttering of Picturehouse and Warner Independent Pictures, "Coco" will be one of the studio's first new tests in handling a specialty release.
House of Chanel art director Karl Lagerfeld has been hired to supervise re-creations of the legendary designer's attire, say today�s trades.
The other Chanel film traces the love story of the designer and Igor Stravinsky. Anna Mouglalis and Mads Mikkelsen are set to star. It will be shot 80% in English with Russian and French elements and edited along the way. Wild Bunch is handling international sales and French distribution. The French release is set for early April.
�Chanel and Stravinsky� is produced by Claudie Ossard and Chris Bolzli�s Eurowide Film Production. Ossard was one of the driving forces behind �Amelie,� the film that made Tautou an international star.
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