Fans of Luc Besson, listen up! Have we got some great news for you. Principal photography begins today on EuropaCorp and Relativity’s comedic actioner MALAVITA directed by Besson (TAKEN, TRANSPORTER) and starring Oscar®-Winner Robert De Niro (LIMITLESS, HEAT), Oscar®-Nominee Michelle Pfeiffer (PEOPLE LIKE US), Oscar®-Winner Tommy Lee Jones (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, MEN IN BLACK), Dianna Agron (GLEE) and John D’Leo (WANDERLUST, THE WRESTLER).
Collaborating with Besson behind the scenes is a creative below-the-line team including: director of photography Thierry Arbogast (The Fifth Element), production designer Hugues Tissandier (Taken), sound editor Ken Yasumoto (The Transporter), costume designer Olivier Bériot (Taken) and editor Julien Rey (The Lady).
The darkly comedic action film MALAVITA is the story of the Manzonis, a notorious mafia family who gets relocated to Normandy, France under the witness protection program. While they do their best to fit in, old habits die hard and they soon find themselves handling things the “family” way.
Filming commenced in Normandy and will continue in France at La Cité du Cinéma, where the brand new Studios de Paris are located. Additional shooting will take place in New York. The film will bow in 2013 with Relativity handling US distribution. The script is adapted by Besson from the book Badfellas by author Tonino Benacquista.
This adds to the fantastic roster of flicks Relativity will be releasing. Soon we’ll see the thriller House at the End of the Street (in theatres September 21, 2012), the outrageous Movie 43 (in theatres January 25, 2013) and comedy 21 and Over (in theatres March 15, 2013). Relativity is currently in post-production on Scott Cooper’s gritty dramatic thriller currently-titled Out of the Furnace and is in production on the film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ best-selling Safe Haven (in theatres February 8, 2013) and the corporate espionage thriller Paranoia (in theatres September 27, 2013).
EuropaCorp is currently in production on TAKEN 2 which it will distribute in France and with its partners in Germany, Scandinavia and Russia. Fox will handle the distribution of the film in the US and throughout its international distribution organization. The company is also in production on MOBIUS directed by Éric Rochant and starring Oscar®-Winner Jean DuJardin, Cécile De France and Tim Roth.
