pathe Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Hot on the heels of The Queen, Pathé Pictures and BBC Films have teamed up for a film about former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Like The Queen, which was co-produced by Pathé, this picture will not be a biopic and will instead deal with only a few weeks. Specifically, it will focus on the 17 days leading up to the Falklands War (Malvinas War, for the Argentines) of 1982. Aside from the production company, there isn't much else connecting this and The Queen, but that certainly won't stop its marketing. Currently the only people attached to the project are screenwriter Brian Fillis and producer Damian Jones, so it is of course still possible for others involved with The Queen to become involved here -- would Helen Mirren make a good Thatcher? (I couldn't see it). I actually say make up Julianne Moore for the part. Seriously.

It is too bad nobody thought about making a film earlier since it would tie in perfectly right now -- today is the 25th anniversary of Argentina's initial flag raising on South Georgia, which kicked off the conflict (I'm figuring it is the first of the 17 days). I'm not an expert on the proceedings from March 19 on, but much of the plot of the proposed film would likely consist of the attempted negotiations prior to Argentina's actual invasion of the islands. It is also too bad the film will be stopped at the moment the war begins, as it would make an interesting companion piece to last year's excellent Argentine film Blessed by Fire (read my Tribeca film festival review), in a Flags of Our Fathers/Letters from Iwo Jima-sort of way. The aftermath would be a worthy focus, too, because the war positively changed the British people's attitude toward Thatcher and the government. In any regard, I'm looking forward to the film and I hope it can be somewhat close to as good as The Queen.

Say what you want about Ocean's Twelve, but you have to admit that Vincent Cassel almost managed to "out-suave" Danny Ocean and the gang as the French thief Toulour in the 2004 film. Cassel is set to star in a two-part film based on the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrines. Jean-Francois Richet will direct the films, titled Death Instinct and Public Enemy No. 1. Variety reports that Pathe films has picked up both productions for French distribution and international sales.

Jacques Mesrines was one of the most infamous criminals in French history; Mesrines started with hotel robberies, but by the end of his criminal career he claimed to have murdered almost 40 people -- including a journalist that he felt had been writing slanderous articles about him. Mesrines became something of a cult hero in France; he eluded capture numerous times and even managed to escape from prison. Mesrines would grant interviews with newspapers to try to convince the public his crimes were politically motivated, but there was never any proof that Mesrines was interested in anything other than his own publicity. Even his death in a shoot-out with the French police sparked conspiracy theories that it was a political assassination.

Death Instinct and Public Enemy No. 1 will begin shooting on location in France this May. Crime has always been great source material for a movie -- we all love to watch the criminal do the things we shouldn't -- and it also doesn't hurt to throw in glamorous locales and a handsome leading man too.

[via ComingSoon.net]