Mathieu kassovitz set to direct his first movie in more than a decade with live action-animation hybrid ‘the big war’

EXCLUSIVE: _La Haine_ filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz is returning to the director’s chair to make English-language passion project _The Big War_, which will mark the first movie he has helmed

in 13 years. “This is a project I’ve been working on for twenty years,” Kassovitz explained about the live action-animation hybrid project, which he has scripted with _The Nightmare Before

Christmas_, _Corpse Bride_ and _Edward Scissorhands_ scribe Caroline Thompson. “It is inspired by cult French graphic novel _La Bete Est Mort_e, which was written during the Second World

War,” says the Frenchman, also known for starring in movies including _Amélie_ and _Munich_ and hit TV series _Le Bureau Des Legendes_. “It reimagines that war as enacted by animals. The

Nazis are the wolves who go after the ‘vermin’ — the rabbits — who represent the war’s victims. The story focuses on two rabbits who go after their family who have been taken away and on

their journey they discover adventures and more rabbits who join their cause.” “It’s a heartfelt, lovely story,” scribe Thompson told us. “We’ve been passing it between ourselves for quite a

while. Mathieu is a wonderful person to work with and this has nudged me back into writing.” WATCH ON DEADLINE The project now has fresh impetus with producer and animation specialist Aton

Soumache aboard. Soumache is best known for big-budget animated projects such as _The Little Prince _and_ Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, the Movie_. “I’m shooting the movie with real

locations and set-pieces and then the animal characters will be dropped in, so I’ll be shooting a movie that will be delivered to the animators,” says Kassovitz. “We’re now in the design

phase and looking for financiers and want to start production by the end of the year. We will have a budget in the $30M range and we’re in discussions with American and British actors whose

names I can’t reveal just yet.” Kassovitz himself will also have a role in the movie. While there is no seller attached at present, it’s possible that one becomes attached for the Cannes

market next month. The project will be Kassovitz’s third English-language film after _Gothika_ and _Babylon A.D._ His last directorial outing was 2011 French action-drama _Rebellion_. The

three-time César winner was involved in a bad motorcycle accident last year but is now fighting fit and energetically working on two projects: _The Big War_, and a stage musical version of

his classic 1995 film _La Haine_, which is due to open later this year in Paris. Of the latter, Kassovitz says: “We already have deals in place to sell the show in the UK and U.S.” Upcoming

Kassovitz is among the ensemble cast in Terrence Malick’s long-in-the-works Biblical drama _The Way Of The Wind_, which filmed back in 2019. Like most of us, Kassovitz is in the dark as to

the film’s release schedule. “This is Terrence Malick,” he laughs. “I have heard rumors but at the same time it doesn’t feel imminent. When we shot, Terrence filmed around five hours a day

of usable film so it takes years and multiple editors to see everything. I don’t even know if I’ll be in it in the end.”