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Philippe Le Guay’s “The Man in the Basement” scooped the top prize at the U.K. Jewish Film Festival on Sunday evening.

The 2021 film, which stars François Cluzet, Jérémie Renier and Bérénice Bejo, was awarded the prize for best film.

Runner-up “Karaoke,” from director Moshe Rosenthal, which had opened the festival earlier this month, was given a special mention.

The best film winner was selected by a jury comprised of “Made of Honor” director Paul Weiland, Kefi Chadwick, Liraz Chamami, producer Dominique Green, Sharon Levi and Michael Samuels.

“The jury was impressed by this tense thriller, with its strong performances and direction, and bristling with symbolism that intelligently explores France’s hidden history and contemporary issues around antisemitism,” they said in a statement. “‘The Man in the Basement’ confronts Jewish identity, Holocaust denial and attitudes to France’s Jewish minority, but yet the film still works effectively as compelling and suspenseful storytelling.

Exclusive: The UK Jewish Film Festival (November 10-20) has revealed its lineup of 2022 gala screenings and premieres, including special presentations of the single shot drama Shttl and Three Minutes: A Lengthening, the WWII drama co-produced by Steve McQueen and narrated by Helena Bonham Carter.

Shttl will screen as the festival’s Centerpiece Gala. The film’s director Ady Walter and producer Jean-Charles Lévy will be in attendance. Shot in a village constructed for the production and filmed in one long shot, the film captures the lives of the inhabitants of a Yiddish-speaking village on the eve of the Nazi invasion of Soviet Ukraine.

Three Minutes: A Lengthening, the directorial debut from dutch writer Bianca Stigter, will have its UK premiere during the festival. The film is narrated by Helena Bonham Carter and is composed entirely of a three-minute fragment of 16mm film from 1938. Uncovered and tirelessly restored, the documentary...

Louisa Mellor Dec 20, 2017

Exclusive: Lenny Henry looks back at working on the brilliant festive feature, Bernard & The Genie...

As we pointed out to Lenny Henry himself in our new interview with him, whenever we mention the delightful Christmas adventure Bernard & The Genie on this site, it always gets a hell of a reception.

See related War For The Planet Of The Apes review Matt Reeves interview: War For The Planet Of The Apes Visiting the set of War For The Planet Of The Apes

He was pleased to hear the news too. “I don’t know why they don’t show it”, he said to us. “They should show it every Christmas!”.

We agree, Lenny.

He added that “it was one of the best experiences of my life, working with Richard [Curtis] and Rowan Atkinson and people like that, it was great”.

We asked what make it such a good experience,...

Young British Disney star Gregg Sulkin is currently filming supernatural thriller Panda Eyes in Wales, alongside Game of Thrones star 16 year old Sophie Turner.

Panda Eyes has been adapted from Catherine MacPhail’s novel Another Me, about a teenage girl Fay, with a dysfunctional family, who starts noticing strange things, and believes she is being pursued by her own double.

20 year old Gregg started acting as child when he played the lead role of Bernie Reubens in Sixty Six, directed by Paul Weiland. He plays the love interest of Selena Gomez in Wizards of Waverly Place, and is currently recurring on ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars. He has recently filmed a number of indie features including White Frog, and Camilla Dickinson with Adelaide Clemens.

Panda Eyes is directed by Spanish film-maker Isabel Coixet and also stars Jonathan Rhys Myers and Rhys Ifans.

Top advertising and design show D&Ad has released a list of its all-time top prize winners to mark its 50th anniversary.

The announcement from D&Ad:

On 18 September 2012, D&Ad staged a huge party and awards ceremony to celebrate its 50th Birthday. At the event, the top ranked agencies, studios and people of the last 50 years of D&Ad were recognised with a one-off Award. The 2012 Black Pencil and President’s Awards were also announced.

D&Ad delved into its archive of design and advertising to uncover the businesses and people that have collected the most Pencils. The winning names were honoured with eight special awards: Most Awarded Ad Agency / Design Studio / Production Company / Brand / Art Director / Copywriter / Designer / Director.

The winners in each category are listed below in alphabetical order.

During its 50 year history, D&Ad has set the standard for excellence in design and advertising, championing the...

Sparks could fly upon the release of Michael Haneke's hugely political Amour, while Prometheus director Ridley Scott also appears to be getting something off his chest

Amour is in the air

Michael Haneke's Cannes-winning Amour will be released in the UK on 16 November. One can thus expect it will be accorded a prime berth at the London film festival. The film, which he wrote in German before getting it translated into French with the approval of his actors, will officially be called Amour around the world. I reckon Jean-Louis Trintignant (the film's title was actually his suggestion) could get an Oscar nomination – he's such a screen legend and Hollywood loves a revival story. The fact that Jean Dujardin won this year will most likely impede his chances of winning, however. Although there is another issue: Cannes audiences have loved the film, yet nobody has yet revealed that there's...

Avalon High, the new Disney Original Movie based on the award-winning novel by best-selling author Meg Cabot (“The Princess Diaries”) premieres on the Disney Channel on Friday 28th January 2011 at 6:00pm.

Filmed in New Zealand in May, British actor Gregg Sulkin joins the mainly American cast as handsome quarter-back Will Wagner.

The 18 year old Londoner played Jj in the British version of As The Bell Rings, and recently appeared opposite Selena Gomez in BAFTA-winning The Wizards of Waverly Place. He has now relocated to Hollywood and seems set to join a growing list of global teen actors, who have been given their first television break with the Disney Channel.

Gregg discovered his passion for acting when he was chosen from 5,000 hopefuls to play the lead role of Bernie Reubens in Sixty Six directed by Paul Weiland, starring alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Eddie Marsen, Catherine Tate and Stephen Rea.

Avalon High follows Allie Pennington,...

Halle Berry is back! And this time, as an agoraphobic footwear lover in the upcoming Paul Weiland’s comedy Shoe Addicts Anonymous.

This project is an adaptation of the Beth Harbison novel with the same name, which centers around four Chicago women who bond over their love of footwear.

Or, if you prefer more detailed synopsis: “Four different women. One common shoe size. And a shared lust for fabulous footwear. Helene Zaharis’s politician husband keeps her on a tight leash and cancels her credit cards as a way of controlling her.

Lorna Rafferty is up to her eyeballs in debt and can’t stop her addiction to eBay. Sandra Vanderslice, battling agoraphobia, pays her shoe bills by working as a phone-sex operator. And Jocelyn Bowen is a nanny for the family from hell (who barely knows a sole from a heel but who will do anything to get out...

HollywoodNews.com: Oscar winner Halle Berry is scheduled to headline “Shoe Addicts Anonymous,” an adaptation of Beth Harbison’s novel.

The actress has been M.I.A. at the multiplex since bombing in the 2007 melo-drama “Things We Lost in the Fire.” “Shoes” brings Berry into the fold of chick pics.

Directed by Paul Weiland (“Made of Honor”), “Shoes” follows Berry’s character, an agoraphobic person, who is addicted to buying shoes online. She’ll be one of four Chicago women who have a fetish for size 7.5 shoes.

Kristen Buckley and Brian Regan of “How to Lose a Guy In 10 Days” fame wrote the screenplay. That 2003 Kate Hudson film generated over $177 million at the worldwide box office.

Film does not have a studio distributor as of yet and is being financed by Parallel.

Berry is expected to go before the cameras on “Shoes” before starring on Broadway in Katori Hall’s “The Mountaintop.

Los Angeles, July 23 – Actress Halle Berry has been roped in to star in the comedy ‘Shoe Addicts Anonymous’.

To be directed by Paul Weiland, the film will tell the story of four women from different ethnic backgrounds in Chicago who are addicted to shoe shopping and all wear the same size footwear, reports ew.com.

Berry will play an agoraphobic, who has to shop online to indulge her love.

The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Beth Harbison.

Ians...

Halle Berry has joined the ensemble comedy "Shoe Addicts Anonymous" for Galgos Entertainment and Parallel Media reports Deadline.

An adaptation of Beth Harbison's bestselling novel, the story looks at the lives of four Chicago women from different ethnic backgrounds, bonded by their shoe addiction and the fact they wear the same size.

The quartet form a support group, a bond that eventually goes beyond footwear. Berry will play an agoraphobe who feeds her addiction with online footwear purchases.

Paul Weiland ("Made of Honor," "Mr. Bean") directs from a script by Kristen Buckley & Brian Regan ("How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days"). Russell Nuce, Mark Bozek, Raymond Markovich and Arcadiy Golubovich will produce.

Ladies, ever wish you could raid Halle Berry’s closet? (Of course, we’d all leave the Catwoman suit well enough alone, right?) Well, for some as-of-yet unannounced actresses, that dream will come true: Deadline reports that Berry is set to lead an ensemble cast in the film adaptation of Beth Harbison’s best-selling novel Shoe Addicts Anonymous. British director Paul Weiland will helm the movie, written by Kristen Buckley and Brian Regan (How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days).

The novel follows four Chicago women who all wear size 7.5 shoes and trade looks. Filming is set to start later this year,...

Halle Berry has been absent from cinema-screen’s since 2007′s Things We Lost in the Fire to concentrate on raising her newly born child. It seems she’s about to make an overdue comeback. Deadline are reporting that she’s been cast in the ensemble comedy, Shoe Addicts Anonymous. The film, an adaptation of Beth Harbison’s bestselling novel, will see Berry play “an agorophobe who feeds her addiction with online shoe purchases”.

Synopsis: The comedy looks at the lives of four Chicago women from different ethnic backgrounds, bonded by two things. They are shoe addicts who wear the same size. They form a support group, swap 7.5s and become—wait for it—sole sisters. Eventually their bond goes beyond footwear.

Paul Weiland (Made of Honour) will direct from a screenplay by Kristen Buckley and Brian Regan (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days). Filming is expected to start in the Autumn.

Los Angeles, California (X17online) - Halle Berry is getting ready to show her love of shoes in the upcoming movie Shoe Addicts Anonymous. The film, based on a novel by Beth Harbison, revolves around four Chicago women from different backgrounds who are obsessed with shoes ... and happen to also wear the same size. After forming a support group for her fear of being out in public, Berry's character bonds with the other ladies over footwear ... while trying to beat her shopping addiciton at the same time. This is Berry's first comedy since Bulworth. Shoe Addicts Anonymous will be directed by Paul Weiland.

You know what happens when you dump your money on films like Valentine.s Day and Sex and the City? You get movies like Paul Weiland.s Shoe Addicts Anonymous. The title is an instant turnoff for male moviegoers and will even have some of the female demographic rolling their eyes. However, not only is this one based on a bestselling novel by Beth Harbison, but it.ll also star Halle Berry. The book is about a group of women that are shoe obsessed and are all a size 7.5. They form a support group to swap their footwear and end up becoming sole sisters. (It.s okay, you can laugh.) According to Deadline, Berry.s character is an agoraphobe limited to satiating her need for pumps online. What is this? Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants for an older generation? Having never read the book, perhaps there.s something of substance...

Halle Berry has signed up for 'Shoe Addicts Anonymous'. The Oscar-winning actress will lead an ensemble cast in the film, an adaptation of the novel by Beth Harbison. The comedy movie - Halle's first since 1998's 'Bulworth'- will be directed by 'Made of Honour' filmmaker Paul Weiland. The film will tell the tale of four women from different ethnic backgrounds in Chicago who are addicted to shoe shopping and all wear the same size footwear. Halle will play an agoraphobic who has to shop online to indulge her love - her three friends in the film have yet to be cast, Deadline.com ..

The projects for Ms Halle Berry just seem to keep piling on don’t they? From Hollywood to Broadway!

This time around, Ms Berry will reportedly star as the lead in an ensemble comedy adaptation of the best selling novel by Beth Harbison, titled Shoe Addicts Anonymous.

In the book, the story is set in Washington, D.C., and centers on 4 women of different socioeconomic backgrounds who are brought together by their shared passion for shoes. They meet weekly to talk and trade, in a kind of support group, and soon their bond grows and strengthens, evolving into something much more than just shared shoe fetishes. The women become fast friends, trusted advisers, and eventually business partners.

Halle will play an agoraphobe who maintains her addiction with online shoe purchases.

The script was written by Kristen Buckley & Brian Regan (How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days), and will be directed by Brit Paul Weiland.

Exclusive: Halle Berry has committed to lead an ensemble cast in Shoe Addicts Anonymous, an adaptation of the bestselling St. Martin’s Press novel by Beth Harbison. Directing is Paul Weiland, the British helmer whose film credits include Made of Honour and whose TV work includes the series Mr. Bean and Blackadder: Back & Forth. The comedy looks at the lives of four Chicago women from different ethnic backgrounds, bonded by two things. They are shoe addicts who wear the same size. They form a support group, swap 7.5s and become—wait for it—sole sisters. Eventually their bond goes beyond footwear. Berry [...]...

Forgotten Films [1] is a semi-regular feature on Film Junk where we explore interesting movies that have fallen off the radar or slipped through the cracks over the years. I've been getting a bit behind on my Forgotten Films lately, but in a way, it's only fitting that I waited until now to write this column since there has been so much Cosby content on the Film Junk Podcast lately. While Jay has been busy going through every single season of The Cosby Show, a couple of months ago I rewatched one of Bill Cosby's less celebrated classics: the disastrous '80s spy spoof, Leonard Part 6. There once was a time when Bill Cosby could do no wrong. He made a name for himself doing stand-up comedy in the '60s, and his charisma and knack for storytelling and characterizations led to him being cast in I Spy alongside Robert Culp.

It is with a tinge of horror that we at Back Stage learn Eddie Marsan is driving himself to our interview in Los Angeles. Our concern is in part because the actor is English and in part because he plays the pathologically tense, deeply miserable, apparently psychotic driving instructor in Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky. When Marsan arrives here safely, we are relieved to learn he is a sensibly happy man. And as he shares his story with us, he articulately reveals how he has made his own luck by driving his career forward, thank you very much.It's not that he hasn’t been noticeable to hawk-eyed observers long before this film's October release in the U.S. This year alone he appeared as the cozy but slightly self-absorbed father in Paul Weiland's Sixty-Six, then had a world-class shoving contest with Will Smith in Hancock. But something about Marsan's...

There's not much swinging in the London of Paul Weiland's Sixty-Six. Somewhere across town, David Hemmings is watching the Yardbirds smash their guitars, but the most exciting thing in Gregg Sulkin's North London home is his upcoming bar mitzvah. Four-eyed and flat-footed, the curly haired Sulkin is used to being overlooked, his concerns drowned out by his obsessive-compulsive father (Eddie Marsan) and thick-skulled brother (Ben Newton). But here, at last, will be his chance to shine. Sulkin is so immersed in planning what he envisions as "the Gone With the Wind of bar mitzvahs" that he doesn't notice that it's been scheduled for the day of the World Cup final. As England has as much chance of making the final as Sulkin has of playing for Arsenal, his parents assure him there's nothing to worry about. But as any British soccer fan will know, July 30, 1966 was not a.

Getting your first job through the first audition you've ever gone on is miraculous. But that miracle happened for Gregg Sulkin. At age 13, totally unfamiliar with the process, and having only once appeared in a school play in his native London, Sulkin asked his father why they were driving to that "auction." They had heard of the opportunity through a cousin, who then lent Sulkin her agent Sasha Leslie so the young man could get in the door. First, Sulkin met one-on-one with casting director Fiona Weir. "Everyone else was in there, say, for five minutes. I was in there for 25 minutes. My dad was worrying. He started looking around the building, like, where am I? And then they kept on asking me back," says Sulkin, now 16. "And I thought, 'They must kind of like me.' " Four callbacks later, Sulkin was cast — in Sixty Six, written by Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan,...

A new drama centre at a Westbury, England school has been named after City Slickers II: The Legend Of Curly's Gold director Paul Weiland, even though he never attended.

Weiland insists he only received the odd honour because a former assistant's father is the headmaster of the school.

He tells WENN, "I got a house in Bath that we go to for holidays and weekends and the father of a girl who works for me there is headmaster at this Matravers School.

"He asked me if I would open a drama centre, so I went there and there was a plaque for the drama centre that had Paul Weiland on it.

"It was amazing because no one at my own old school would ever say, `Here's a pupil that's done well, maybe we should bring him back to inspire the other kids,' and these people don't know me from Adam. All the kids wanted my autograph."...

Funnyman Billy Crystal's nice-guy image has taken a hammering from his City Slickers sequel director, who reveals the actor was challenging on the set.

British moviemaker Paul Weiland expected the film, City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold, to be packed with good times and laughs - but, instead, it was a terrible shoot.

And he blames his allergies and Crystal for ruining the experience.

Weiland says, "I'm always slightly anxious at first with movie stars because they can either make your life a dream or a living hell.

"Sometimes you get an actor who is majorly neurotic or powerful and controlling and it's horrible. Billy Crystal really wanted to be directing the movie.

"If you're hired as a director and someone says, 'You're not really gonna be the director; you're there to hold Billy's hand and really he's gonna direct it,' then that's fine. But, to not be told that and then to go in, it's an all-out war - and it's not pleasant."

And when he wasn't dealing with Crystal, Weiland was trying to cope with his allergies.

He adds, "I'm allergic to things like horses and cats. When I made City Slickers II, it was really dangerous because there were horses everywhere.

"I had to be drugged up to the eyeballs for that. I couldn't breathe if I got near a horse; it was horrible."...

By Neil Pedley

This week's offerings find twilight twenty-somethings longing for love in Los Angeles, "The Mummy" franchise heading East and a gruesome subway slasher trying very hard not to scare people clean out of the theater, at least not before the movie actually starts.

"America the Beautiful"

At 12, Gerren Taylor was a bright young model who strolled the catwalk of Fashion Week in Los Angeles. By 13, she was considered a has-been. Director Darryl Roberts traces Taylor's early entrance and exit from the runway to paint a far larger picture of the inner workings of the fashion industry, examining the class system of models and the advertisers and designers who relentlessly manufacture a feeling of negative self-image among consumers and then prey upon it to get us to dip into our wallets. Through interviews with fashion industry experts, the first-time documentarian learns that beauty isn't skin deep . it's retouched, glossed over and as a business,...

Bernie (Gregg Sulkin), the hero of the Britcom "Sixty Six," is a preteen Job whose lengthy list of miseries - including the failure of his hopelessly square dad's greengrocer business - is topped by his bar mitzvah being scheduled against the final of the 1966 World Cup at Wembley.

Bernie's fantasies of a Big Fat British Bar Mitzvah to rival his older brother's literally go up in smoke even as he places a voodoo curse on his country's World Cup team and dutifully studies with a blind rabbi.

On the plus side is a good cast,...

In 1986, John Hughes wrote Pretty In Pink, a high-school romantic comedy featuring a love triangle between a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, her long-smitten best friend, and a handsome rich kid. It worked so well that he essentially wrote it again with the genders reversed, and called it Some Kind Of Wonderful. Cheap? Maybe. You could simply call it consistency. But what do you call it when someone pulls a gender reversal on someone else's movie? If that movie is My Best Friend's Wedding, you call it Made Of Honor. Originality is often overrated anyway, but director Paul Weiland (City Slickers II: The Legend Of Curly's Gold, Leonard Part 6), working from a script by newcomer Adam Sztykiel and the generally reliable team of Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont, doesn't offer much compensation for his lack thereof. Everyone hits the notes to a tune they,...

By Neil Pedley

The Tribeca Film Festival is in full swing, but if you don't live in New York, there's no need to fret. No less than three films ("From Within," "Mister Lonely" and "Redbelt") on this list of coming attractions have played the festival in recent days. Then again, if you are in New York and want to catch something outside the fest, there's always that intimate character drama starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and a red and gold metal suit of armor.

"The Favor"

Writer/director Eva J. Aridjis brings us a quiet tale of angst and alienation starring former New York subway busker Ryan Donowho as Johnny, a high school loner who's taken in by Lawrence (Frank Wood), a quiet pet photographer, after his mother (Paige Turco) is killed in an accident. In order to be the father he needs, Lawrence must fight through Johnny's rebellious...

Opens: Friday, May 2 (Columbia)You know from a song list that includes Smash Mouth, Lenny Kravitz and Kanye West that "Made of Honor" has something a bit edgier in mind than the usual, soft-focused wedding bell high jinks.

For the most part, that's exactly what it delivers -- an amusing, smartly cast romantic comedy told from a guy's perspective. Given that the lead in question is none other than Dr. McDreamy himself, Patrick Dempsey, the Columbia Pictures release should perform honorably with its targeted female audience but perhaps not as strongly as Sony might like, considering that its competition comes in the form of an equally appealing Robert Downey Jr. in "Iron Man", opening the same day.

There's also the fact that male-centric rom-coms traditionally tend not to perform as strongly as those told from a female POV, but there's still much to appreciate here.

Dempsey takes full advantage of the chance to play things considerably faster and looser than he does on "Grey's Anatomy" in the role of Tom, a career dater who doesn't believe in going out with the same woman two nights in a row. He's a successful businessman -- he invented those cardboard sleeves that go around hot takeout coffee cups -- but an emotional cripple, which is why he's never been able to own up to his true feelings for his taken-for-granted best friend, Hannah (a sparkling Michelle Monaghan).

Absence makes the heart grow fonder when she goes off on a six-week business trip to Scotland. But just when Tom's about to spill his guts to her, she introduces him to her Highland fling-turned-fiance, Colin (Kevin McKidd), and asks Tom to be her maid of honor.

Tom proceeds to go through the usual machinations to prevent the marriage, and though the film grows more conventional in the process, there's sufficient pointed wit in this first script by Adam Sztykiel along with Deborah Kaplan & Harry Elfont and finely tuned comic timing in Englishman Paul Weiland's direction.

Even more refreshing is the fact that there's a tangible chemistry between Dempsey and Monaghan that makes it easy to root for them as the meant-to-be couple. Meanwhile, the always welcome Sydney Pollack makes the most of his few scenes as Dempsey's serial-marrying dad. Kathleen Quinlan does likewise as Monaghan's perceptive mom.

Cast: Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin McKidd, Kathleen Quinlan, Sydney Pollack. Director: Paul Weiland. screenwriters: Adam Sztykiel, Deborah Kaplan & Harry Elfont. Executive producers: Callum Greene, Tania Landau, Amanda Lewis, Marty Adelstein, Aaron Kaplan, Sean Perrone, Ryan Kavanaugh. producer: Neal H. Moritz. Rated PG-13, 101 minutes.

Michelle Monaghan has signed on to star opposite Patrick Dempsey in Columbia Pictures' romantic comedy Made of Honor.

Paul Weiland will direct from a screenplay by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont based on an original script by Adam Sztykiel.

The story chronicles the relationship between Tom (Dempsey) and Claire (Monaghan), who have been platonic friends for 10 years. He's a serial dater, while she wants marriage but hasn't found Mr. Right. Just as Tom is starting to think that he's relationship material after all, Claire gets engaged. When she asks Tom to be her "maid" of honor, he reluctantly agrees -- only so he can attempt to stop the wedding and woo her before it's too late.

Shooting is scheduled to start in April.

Neal Moritz is producing through his Sony-based Original Film shingle. Aaron Kaplan and Sean Perrone are executive producing alongside Original's Tania Landau.

Amy Baer and Adam Milano are overseeing for the studio.

Monaghan, whose credits include Mission: Impossible III and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, next will star in two October releases: the untitled Farrelly brothers project from DreamWorks Pictures and Gone, Baby, Gone from Miramax Films.

"Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey has checked into Sony's romantic comedy Made of Honor per Production Weekly. British helmer Paul Weiland directs the project written by Christmas with the Kranks scribes Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. Dempsey plays a commitmentphobe whose amorous feelings towards his best friend, Claire, is put to the test when she falls for a wealthy Scotsman. Filming is scheduled to start in May in Los Angeles, New York and Scotland.

Columbia Pictures has tapped Paul Weiland to helm the romantic comedy Made of Honor, starring Patrick Dempsey.

Penned by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont from an original script by Adam Sztykiel, the story centers on a man (Dempsey) who is in love with a woman, but she's engaged to someone else. When the woman asks Dempsey's character to be her maid of honor, he agrees with the intention of winning her heart. The studio, which bought Sztykiel's spec script in April 2003, is searching for a female lead.

Neal Moritz is producing through his Sony-based Original Film shingle. Aaron Kaplan and Sean Perrone are executive producing alongside Original's Tania Landau.

Sony's Amy Baer and Adam Milano are shepherding the project for the studio.

Weiland, whose helming credits include Fine Line Features' Roseanna's Grave and City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold, most recently directed Working Title's Sixty Six, starring Helena Bonham Carter. The U.K. native also worked on several incarnations of the Mr. Bean TV series.

Two of the United Kingdom's most established film and television industry names -- Colin Leventhal and Marion Pilowsky -- have teamed to form Priority Pictures, the duo said Tuesday. The pair aims to develop, finance and produce projects in the $7 million-$20 million range. The company's first production, Three Bad Men, will be helmed by Paul Weiland (City Slickers 2) from a script by Paul Straughan. Billed as a black comedy, the movie details the story of three hit men on the run who decide to change their lives. Scheduled to begin shooting in the fall, the budget is set at about $25 million, Leventhal said.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Anything but grave until its emotional finale, director Paul Weiland's "For Roseanna" is a lighthearted farce about a man who goes to absurd lengths to fulfill his wife's dying wish.

The upcoming Fine Line Features release, whose title was changed last week from "Roseanna's Grave", was warmly received Thursday by the opening-night audience at the 12th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, with co-producer Paul Trijbits in attendance. Starring Jean Reno and Mercedes Ruehl, "For Roseanna" is an English-language hybrid -- the characters are Italian, many of the actors are not. Commercial prospects are modest at best.

Written by veteran TV writer and producer Saul Turteltaub, the comedy is set in an Italian village with a nearly full graveyard. Only three plots remain, and it is the desire of Roseanna (Ruehl) to be buried beside her daughter, who died many years before.

Her husband Marcello (Reno) is a big, energetic trattoria proprietor who monitors the progress of other mortally ill locals in the hospital. His single-mindedness is both endearing and mildly off-putting.

Resigned to her fate but still very much alive, Roseanna tries to set up Marcello with her younger sister Cecilia (Polly Walker), so he won't be alone after she's gone. Although he's not immune to Cecilia's attractiveness, Marcello does not take this wish seriously.

Cecilia, however, is ardently pursued by Antonio (Mark Frankel), the nephew of a bitter former lover of Roseanna. His uncle (Luigi Diberti) just happens to own vacant land next to the cemetery but refuses to sell it to the church because of his seriously broken heart and jealousy of Marcello.

Enter a recently freed convict (Trevor Peacock) who left a small fortune with the village banker Roberto Della Casa) 20 years earlier. The latter spent most of the loot on a young mistress in Rome and fears for his life. A mishap one night results in the banker's death, with Marcello hiding the corpse in a freezer to delay his burial.

More bodies are hidden, and the long-simmering problems with Diberti's character lead to a shouting match in church. The finale involves another elaborate, crowd-pleasing ruse.

Ruehl is strong and elegantly earthy, and Reno can be quite amusing with his facial expressions. The supporting cast is first-rate, with Walker ("Emma") making the most of her role.

Filmed in wide screen, the film revels in the beautiful countryside and the power of love and faithfulness.

FOR ROSEANNA

Fine Line Features

in association with Spelling Films

Director Paul Weiland

Writer Saul Turteltaub

Producers Paul Trijbits,

Alison Owen, Dario Poloni

Executive producers Ruth Vitale,

Mark Ordesky, Jonathan Weisgal, Miles Donnelly

Director of photography Henry Braham

Editor Martin Walsh

Production designer Rod McLean

Music Trevor Jones

Costume designer Annie Hardinge

Casting Nina Gold

Color/stereo

Cast:

Marcello Jean Reno

Roseanna Mercedes Ruehl

Cecilia Polly Walker

Antonio Mark Frankel

Father Bramilla Giuseppe Cederna

Dr. Benvenuto Renato Scarpa

Running time -- 99 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13...