Cannes: Focus Features Acquires Studiocanal-sold ‘Bastille Day’

Focus Features has acquired North American distribution rights to action thriller “Bastille Day,” starring Idris Elba and “Blue Is the Warmest Color’s” Adele Exarchopoulos.

Philippe Rousselet is producing the project via his Vendome Pictures banner, along with Steve Golin, David Kanter, and Bard Dorros for Anonymous Content (“Babel,” “True Detective”). James Watkins is directing from Andrew Baldwin’s script.

Studiocanal is financing “Bastille Day” and will distribute it in France, Germany, the U.K., New Zealand and Australia, and is selling the rest of the world.

Developed by Anonymous Content, the action thriller turns on a rogue U.S. CIA operative who is tasked with interrogating and eventually making a young American man, who’s a con-artist, “disappear” in order to avoid embarrassment to the U.S. government after the American is linked as the prime suspect to an attack on the Paris metro.

After several more attacks, the operative realizes the young American is innocent and may be the only link to the person actually orchestrating the terrorist attacks.

“Bastille Day” is scheduled to shoot in Paris in summer.

Peter Schlessel, CEO of Focus Features, said: “We are all excited to be working with James, these accomplished producers, and the incomparable Idris Elba on what will surely be a thrill ride set in Paris, one of the greatest cities in the world.”

Rousselet added: “We are all thrilled to have Focus Features distribute our film. We could not have dreamed of a better home for it and we look forward to collaborating with Peter and his fantastic team.”

“Anonymous Content has always had a great working relationship with Focus Features, and we have long admired Peter,” stated Dorros and Kanter jointly.

The deal was negotiated by Beth Lemberger, Focus Features’ exec VP of business affairs, and Anna Marsh, head of international sales for Studiocanal.

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