November 2011 - Zuzana and Nick on the Tarot movie

November 2011... with autumn leaves crunching underfoot all over London, Tarot continues to progress.  With key cast members attached and the script finely honed, worldwide interest is on the up and leading players from all over Europe, America, Australia, India and the Middle East are discussing the project.  Here are Director Nick von Schlippe and Producer Zuzana Jochman on the South Bank talking about our current state of play.

Tarot Screen Tests

In early July we held screen tests for some of the prospective actors for Tarot.  We saw a number of absolutely outstanding performances, and had tremendous fun.  Several of the actors commented on how much they enjoyed the auditions, and that it was the most fun casting session they had ever been to.  At lunchtime Nick and Zuzana went for a walk in nearby Euston Square and ended up part of a line dancing festival - a great way of relaxing and unwinding!  Here is a video we made to give a flavour of the atmosphere of a big day in the development of Tarot.

Cesare Pictures at Cannes 2011

We had a great time at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2011, and made dramatic leaps forward in getting the Tarot project in front of the key Sales Agents, Distributors and Financiers who will play such a big role in realising our ambition of a worldwide cinema release.  With our PR man Dirk Vandereyken (Badass PR), actors Mohamed Karim and Rachel Warren, and other members of the Cesare Pictures family accompanying us, we were already being described as a Mini Studio.  Here is Zuzana at the very start of our stay - more to follow!

Cesare Pictures at the Brussels International Fantasy Film Festival 2011

In April Zuzana and Nick travelled to the Brussels International Fantasy Film Festival.  We had a lot of fun watching movies in the sports crowd like atmosphere created by the passionate fans, and met a lot of directors and movers and shakers in the fantasy and horror film world.  We also took a trip to Holland for the Elf Fair, where we made a sword and sorcery short film "Gorgamon of the Zorgamon" in a day.  For her role as the Princess who gets captured by the evil Gorgamon, Rosanne Kavelaars won the Best Actress award, and everyone had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed being part of the first Golden Knight Awards!

March 2011: Busy days in development

Tarot, our fantasy horror film, is now at a very advanced stage of development, getting ready for production this autumn. We are in discussion with big name actors, and have cast the brilliant up and coming actress Rachel Warren to play Crystal, one of the three leading ladies.

We are in the second or third round of talks with numerous investors from around the world, many of them considering buying into our slate of three films (Tarot, sci-fi comedy It Lived In My Flat, and historical epic Maiden War).

One very experienced investor recently told us “you’re offering someone the chance to make a fortune”, and another told us he never laughs as much and has so much fun as he does when he’s with us!

The days are busy, busy, busy, and it feels like we’re living in extreme fast forward with scripts to be rewritten, budgets to be drafted, crew to be hired, and plans made for the next step forward.

Cesare Pictures are attracting good press interest, with articles about us on a Dutch entertainment website, for UK independent film magazine Gorilla, and an online radio interview scheduled for late May.

In addition, we’re preparing a workshop on film making at the Elf Fantasy Fair in Holland in April, where we’ll be making a film in a day with thousands of fantasy fans, and also for Cannes in May, where, with the help of our brilliant PR agent Dirk Vandereyken, we aim to create a frenzy of interest about Cesare Pictures and our projects.