From Deadline comes the news that Amazon Studios will be the U.S. and Canadian distributor for Annette, the anticipated (and seemingly insane) new movie from the idiosyncratic French writer-director Leos Carax. Described as a musical about a stand-up comedian, the film stars Adam Driver and features original songs by brothers Ron and Russell Mael, also known as the cult art-pop duo Sparks. Rooney Mara, who was originally attached in a leading role, has since dropped out, reportedly due to her commitment to another bizarre-sounding arthouse musical, the Mica Levi-scored, Brady Corbet-directed Vox Lux.
Annette, which will only be Carax’s sixth film in 33 years, promises to be the largest project that the director has undertaken since 1991’s The Lovers Of The Bridge. (Which, coincidentally, came out on Blu-ray today, with a booklet essay by yours truly.) The filmmaker, whose real name is Alex Dupont, is the son of the American film critic Joan Dupont and spent part of his teen years in the United States, though Anette will be his first film with entirely English dialogue. For Sparks, it’ll be another entry in their eclectic career; the duo’s previous forays into film include scoring the Jean-Claude Van Damme and Rob Schneider team-up Knock Off (complete with a catchy theme song) and writing music for Jacques Tati’s never realized final project, Confusion.
Carax is responsible for some of the most memorable uses of music in film history (one of which is embedded below), so color us excited. No release date has yet been set for Annette.