As cheeky, boisterous and witty as it is delicately drawn and beauteous to behold, Sylvain Chomet’s second feature film is a winner on every level – and a perfect opening act for EIFF 2010. Our weary hero is an over-the-hill magician, complete with less-than- friendly white rabbit; their adventures are based upon an unrealised script by Jacques Tati, the action of which Chomet transposed to Scotland after he moved here in 2004. Always in search of a paying gig, the illusionist treks from Paris to the Western Isles to Edinburgh – acquiring, along the way, a young travelling companion who sincerely believes in his magical abilities. Rich with visual jokes, seductive 1950s period detail and breathtaking views of city and wilderness alike, this is the work of a master in his field – and one of the most gorgeous evocations of Scotland in cinema history.
David Silverman, who directed ‘The Simpsons Movie’ and co-directed ‘Monsters Inc’, has been snapped up to direct his first live action movie.
Signed by on by Disney will direct ‘The Pet’.
The basic plot of the movie, written by Matt Lieberman, is that a man becomes the pet of a group of aliens. In keeping with the rest of Silverman’s movies, this will be a family comedy.
EXTRAs: Silverman met the future voice of Bart Simpson, ‘Nancy Cartwright’, when they were both students in UCLA’s Art Department in the late 1970s. They jokingly made an agreement they would one day work on a show together, but didn’t find out their deal came through until they saw the credits of the first episode of ‘The Simpsons’.