French language animation Ernest & Celestine and Fernando Trueba’s new feature El Artista y la Modelo, as well as an adaptation of Danny Wallace [pictured]’s forthcoming debut novel Charlotte Street spark excitement on Screenbase this week.

Production on Benjamin Renner’s, Vincent Patar’s and Stephanie Aubier’s latest feature animation Ernest & Celestine is well underway in studios across France, Luxembourg and Belgium. Telling the story of friendship between a mouse and a bear, the $13m film is a joint co-production between France’s StudioCanal, France 3 Cinema, Les Armateurs, Canal Plus, Maybe Movies, Luxembourg’s Mélusine Productions, as well as Belgium’s La Parti Production. The screenplay was penned by Daniel Pennac. The feature received financial backing from the CNC, Eurimages, Ciné+ (previously CinéCinéma), Procirep and Film Fund Luxembourg. Lambert Wilson is attached to voice the character Ernest. Production will continue until 2012 for an early 2013 release in France via StudioCanal, which also handle international sales.

Fernando Trueba is preparing principal photography on his latest venture El Artista Y La Modelo (“the Artist and the Model), his first project to be shot in the French language. The story centres on an old artist who lives in France during the German occupation in the Second World War and was co-scripted by Trueba and Jean Claude Carrière. Jean Rochefort and Aida Folch have been confirmed to star.  The project is a French-Spanish co-production between Fernando Trueba Producciones and Bonne Pioche. Shooting will kick off in the south of France in mid-September. 

Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title Films will produce an adaptation of Danny Wallace’s debut novel Charlotte Street, which Random House will publish in the UK next summer. The romantic comedy follows a disillusioned teacher in London who tracks down an unknown woman in a series of photographs.

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