I can’t say that I’ve been following Fernando Trueba‘s career as a filmmaker, I’ve only seen his 1992 Oscar winning Belle Epoque (which along with Jamón, jamón launched Penelope Cruz‘s career) and I missed his much adored jazz documentary Calle 54. Variety’s article reveals that the Spanish filmmaker has been extremely busy as of late with The Dancer and the Thief (Fall 2009), the animated Chico y Rita (2010) and is mounting the French-language L’Artiste et son modele which stars Aida Folch and Jean Rochefort (I can’t remove the image of him not being able to mount a horse as witnessed in Terry Gilliam’s meltdown Lost in La Mancha).
The screenplay for The Artist and his Model was written by Trueba and prolific scribe Jean-Claude Carriere (Birth) and is set in occupied France in 1943, it turns on an ageing hedonist painter and his relationship with beauty and with beautiful women. Filming should begin in Spring or Summer of 2010. Cristina Huete produces.
