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PRODUCTION France

Baye heads bill in Chapeau de roue

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Principal photography kicks off today on Tonie Marshall’s seventh feature, Chapeau de roue, a comedy starring Nathalie Baye and Edouard Baer (Molière [+see also:
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).

The French/Swiss co-production, also starring Bulle Ogier, Guy Marchand, Bruno Salomone, Maurice Bénichou and Mélanie Bernier (Her Majestic Minor), marks the director’s return four years after the release of France boutique and seven years after her Cesar-winning Venus Beauty Salon (Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Female Newcomer - Audrey Tautou).

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Scripted by Marshall, Chapeau de roue centres on Irène Montier-Duval (Baye), who is on the run with a Louis Vuitton handbag stuffed with bank notes.

The attractive bourgeois is used as a go-between by a lover to sell arms between a French minister and Korea, but news of the plan is leaked and the minister wants to place the blame on Irène. She then crosses paths with out-of-work magician Darry Marzouki (Baer) and offers to pay him if he drives her to Geneva in his Mercedes. However, Irène finds out that the car was stolen from his brother-in-law, who wants it back and quickly.

Pretending to be an anti-globalisation protestor, Darry goes to a summit in Barcelona and invites Irène along. The pair embark on an adventurous three-day trip with the Koreans, the DST (French counter-intelligence agency), the minister and Darry’s brother-in-law all hot on their heels.

Produced by Alain Peyrollaz for Tabo Tabo Films, the €6.9m Chapeau de roue is being backed by France 3 Cinéma (€500,000 in co-production and €650,000 in pre-sales), a co-production with Rhône-Alpes Cinéma and pre-sales from Canal +. The feature is also a 10% co-production by Swiss outfit SAGA Production headed by Robert Bonaire.

The 46-day shoot will take place in the Rhône-Alpes region before heading to Paris and the Ile-de-France region. Warner will release the film in French cinemas in the first quarter of 2008. TF1 International is handling international sales.

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(Translated from French)

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