Gaul pics have fun, will travel

'The Untouchables,' 'The Artist,' 'A Gang Story' and '17 Girls' are among the new French films with broad appeal overseas and domestically. "The Artist" is on a roll, sweeping trophies around the globe -- but that's only one sign that Gallic cinema has got its mojo back.In 2010, Franch-language films made 85% of their gross outside France. That number dropped to 52% in 2011 (when the highest-grossing French pics in the U.S. were "Colombiana," "Unknown" and "The Three Musketeers" -- English-lingo pics with English-speaking stars).But this year, Gallic cinema is set to reach new highs. "The Artist" has already grossed well over $28 million Stateside and is bound to rise to new highs, boosted by its Oscar wins for pic, actor, director and two other trophies.To be sure, U.S. marketing savvy is partly responsible for the success of "The Artist." "The film's upbeat box office results and the fact that its actor Jean Dujardin and director Michel Hazanavicius have been so actively involved in the film's promotion campaign, orchestrated with brio by the Weinstein Co., are boosting the appeal of French cinema worldwide," says Regine Hatchondo, managing director of Paris-based pic promotion org Unifrance.In fact, Weinstein has been grabbing many of 2011's high-profile French films, notably Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledanos' "The Intouchables" and Olivier Marchal's "A Gang Story." Both titles, repped by Gaumont, will play at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in NY, the annual week-long French cinema lovefest."Recently, there have been more movies from France that speak to us that we're very excited about," says David Glasser, COO at Weinstein Co.The success of "The Intouchables" is rejuvinating the image of French movies and opening up buyers' minds, says Cecile Gaget, international sales topper at Gaumont. " 'The Artist' and 'The Intouchables' underscore the diversity of French cinema today."Bowing with "The Intouchables," the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in NY will sample Gallic work and introduce promising newcomers, notably Delphine and Muriel Coulin's edgy feature debut "17 Girls," David and Stephane Foenkinos' "Delicacy," and two pics from thesps-turned-directors: Daniel Auteuil's "The Well-Digger's Daughter" and Mathieu Demy's "Americano," starring Salma Hayek as a Mexican stripper.And all these directorial debuts have U.S. distribution.Per Richard Lorber, top exec at arthouse shingle Kino Lorber, which has acquired "The Well-Digger's Daughter," "French cinema has found again its authentic voice and is returning to its roots with a new dimension of originality. 'The Artist,' 'Declaration of War' and 'Daughter' are quintessentially French but that have an entertaining value and quality that makes them special."Strand Releasing prexy Marcus Hu, who's picked up "17 Girls" and Andre Techine's "Inforgivable," concurs. "We have worked with strong auteurs from Gaspar Noe to Francois Ozon and Andre Techine, and have seen them make a crossover film while still maintaining their strong sense of style."After fearing the worst a few years back when the studios shuttered their specialty divisions, many French sellers agree that closing a distribution deal in the U.S. today is easier than in some European countries like Italy or the U.K."The U.S. is a market of niches that offers many distribution models," says Gaget. "There's an arthouse circuit in NY and L.A. where we can still have a film released on 10 copies, and the VOD model of IFC or Magnolia." She adds that such new players as Cohen Media Group, Film District and Open Road have also energized the market.And while VOD may still be in its infancy, it's giving industryites a new sense of opportunity. "VOD platforms in the U.S. are getting bigger," says Marie-Laure Montironi, head of internatioanl sales at Luc Besson's EuropaCorp. "Distributors like Magnolia and Music Box now take into consideration the film's VOD potential because they know they can sometimes recoup their investment with a good VOD deal."The launch of Weinstein Co.'s VOD label, Radius-TWC, is also seen as good news for independent films. "VOD allows us to tap into new audiences for foreign-language movies," says Glasser. "We're going to open the eyes up of everybody to the great kind of cinema that's out there through our own video-on-demand system.""There will always a segment of American viewers engaged with foreign films and edgier product," says Hu. "The adventurous tastes of cinephiles are always around, they just develop in different ways these days."Related Links: Gual's players: The new generation Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Fundamental steps Beauty As Well As The Animal Casts Animal

EXCLUSIVE: Scottish platinum-selling singer and stage actor Darius Campbell has showed up a guys lead in Fundamental steps drama pilot Beauty As Well As The Animal, a fantasy re-imagining in the classic Beauty as well as the Animal tale by which an embattled princess, Sophistication, discovers an unlikely mention of the amysterious animal, Shiro (Campbell), a mercenary bodyguard. Round the project, Campbell joins recently cast Chris Egan who plays Graces fiance Gorrick. (The Sophistication role is not been cast). Campbell, who's virtually unknown inside the U.S., rose to fame inside the U.K. just like a finalist on Popstars and Pop Idol. He's starred in lots of West Finish musicals, including Chicago and Males And Dolls. This marks the finest TV acting gig for Campbell whose previous experience includes a guest perfect an U.K. drama series. He's repped by Variety, ICM and Uk’s Conway van Gelder. Yves Simoneau is pointing Beauty As Well As The Animal in the script by Jon Steinberg for ABC Art galleries and Gary Fleders Mojo Films.

Henry Cavill Up For Your Great Wall

And may he leap it in a single bound?After as being a heroic warrior in Immortals and sliding into Superman's suit for Guy Of Steel, it seems that Henry Cavill has the capacity to go back to Earth for any little. He's now in predicts star inside the Great Wall.As introduced last August, Love Together With Other Drugs director Erection dysfunction Zwick has co-written the script with regular writing friend Marshall Herskovitz, as well as think about the mystery behind how China's famous wall was built over time under different rulers.The first idea for your film was hatched by Legendary Pictures founder Thomas Tull and World War Z novelist Max Brooks, with Tull handing it towards the China-based Legendary East to shove into production.For which Cavill might be playing inside the film? Well, for the moment that's anyone's guess as no plot particulars are actually released. There's however plenty of history all over the structure, which was began to guard the northern edges in the Chinese Empire inside the fifth century BC. It's been changed, destroyed and reconstructed several occasions ever since then, which we doubt every century will get an attempt searching in as that story may very well last several several hours.Cavill will next be viewed for action thriller The Cold Light Of Day, that will arrive here on April 6. Then 2013 brings Guy Of Steel, which sees him go facing Michael Shannon's General Zod...

Machete Kills Kicks Off In April

Danny Trejo Picking Up The Knife AgainWhile Robert Rodriguez' Grindhouse-spawned, blood-splattered exploit-o-thon Machete didn't quite deliver as we hoped, it did well enough given its low budget to activate the promised sequel, Machete Kills. Now Rodriguez has announced that it'll start shooting in April."The fan response to the Machete character has been fanatical since his first appearance," Rodriguez said in a statement scooped up by Deadline. "Machete is truly a super hero and Machete Kills will be bigger and more ambitious than the first time."This time around, the script is by Kyle Ward, with some development polishing by Rodriguez and brother Marcel Rodriguez. The plot will find Machete (DannyTrejo, hopefully) recruited by the US government to track down a crazed cartel leader in Mexico who is hatching plans with an eccentric billionaire arms dealer to create global anarchy via a space-based weapon. So, just an ordinary day at the office for the knife-wielding former Federale, then...Trejo is in talks to return, though given his close working relationship with Rodriguez and the fact that Machete is his signature character, we doubt there'll be much negotiating before a deal is signed. And anyone who survived the first film is likely to get invited back.There's no word yet on whether Rodriguez will tackle this one alone, or whether he'll recruit a co-director as he did with Ethan Maniquis on the original.

The new sony taps Penn to rewrite 'Karate Kid' follow up

PennColumbia Pictures has drawn on "The Incredible Hulk" scribe Zak Penn to rewrite its untitled follow up to 2010's surprise hit "The Karate Kid."Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris were hired to create a follow up just days after director Harald Zwart's "Karate Kid" reboot required in $55.six million locally over its opening weekend. China-set pic continued to gross $359 million worldwide.While plot particulars remain under systems, original stars Jaden Cruz and Jackie Chan are required to reprise their roles, though no deals are presently in position.Overbrook Entertainment principals Will Cruz, James Lassiter, Ken Stovitz and Jada Pinkett Cruz will produce with Jerry Weintraub, while The new sony professional DeVon Franklin will oversee the task for the studio.Penn knows his way around fight moments, getting written the super hero photos "Elektra," "X-Males: The Final Stand" and "The Incredible Hulk." Younger crowd co-produced the Syfy series "Alphas" and authored, directed and created the improvisational poker comedy "The Grand." Scribe most lately done a "Dirty Dozen" remake, plus an original undertake the classic "Argonauts" tale for twentieth century Fox.Penn is repped by CAA. Contact Rachel Abrams at Rachel.Abrams@variety.com