Besson’s back and he’s animated

Luc Besson is returning to the world of directing with Arthur, a 3-D animated film, now in production.

With a budget the same scale as Shrek’s (around $78M), Arthur is Besson and Pierre-Ange Le Pogam’s four year-old EuropaCorp’s biggest investment yet. Le Progam confirmed yesterday that it would be ready for a 2006 release.

Besson has been absent from the big screen since his 1999 The Messenger: The Story Of Joan Of Arc after which he turned his hand towards creating EuropaCorp and concentrated on writing and producing. Arthur is based on one of the best selling children’s books created by Besson, which have been sold in over 20 countries.

Arthur is the story of a boy in search of his grandfather who travels to the world of the Minimoys. Le Pogam told Screen Daily, “Luc wanted to direct Arthur because he is so at ease bringing us into the discovery of a new world.”

The film mixes 3D animation (to be handled by French company Buf Compagnie), with a small amount of live action and is being produced in English. Leading French broadcaster TF1 is signed up as an investor, though as yet no US studio is tied to the project.

Source: World Movie Mag