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RELEASES France

Besson unveils blockbuster Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec

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Backed by a huge media campaign and widely acclaimed by critics impressed by the great spectacle it offers, The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
will be launched in theatres tomorrow by EuropaCorp. Here, director Luc Besson makes a successful return to live-action film, which he abandoned in 2005 to focus on the animated Arthur trilogy: Arthur and the Invisibles [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Arthur and the Vengeance of Maltazard [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
and, the latest instalment, Arthur and the Two Worlds War (which will be released October 20).

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Adapted from two titles in Jacques Tardi’s comic book series (Adèle and the Beast and Mummies on Parade), the director’s ninth narrative feature plunges into 1912 Paris for some incredible adventures in the spirit of the popular serialised fantasy stories of the early 20th century.

A killer pterodactyl, an Egyptian mummy, a mad scientist, a hunter and a police detective all gravitate around the central character, intrepid journalist and female Indiana Jones figure Adèle Blanc-Sec, played by rising star Louise Bourgoin (The Girl From Monaco [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
). The cast also includes Mathieu Amalric, Gilles Lellouche and Jean-Paul Rouve.

One of the film’s strong points is undoubtedly its recreation of Paris in 1912 with a set designed by Hugues Tissandier. "We worked, as we always do, on quite small film set models," explained Besson. "Preparing on small-scale models enables us to better plan the camera angles (..)”

He continued: “Hugues now uses digital to prepare and pre-visualise his film sets. This enables me to take a virtual wander around, plan the shooting axes and narrow down my choices of focal distance well ahead of the shoot. We also save money thanks to this new technology insofar as we reduce the set construction to what will actually be filmed."

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec was produced by EuropaCorp for around €31.44m. The budget included €4.8m in co-production and pre-sale backing from TF1 Films Productions, and a pre-acquisition from Canal +.

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(Translated from French)

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