Production wraps March 17 on The Man Who Laughs, an adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel L’ homme qui rit, starring Gerard Depardieu.
The Man Who Laughs is a co-production between Incognita Films (France) and Okko Production (Czech Republic).
Director Jean-Pierre Améris shot the entire film in the Czech Republic over 49 shooting days, spending CZK 105.3 million – almost half the total budget of the film.
A Czech crew of 100 film professionals assisted a French team of 16 people on the shoot. Czech crews built a castle interior set as well as a fair exterior set. The crew shot on stages and the backlot at Barrandov Studios as well as on location in Chotěšov, Milovice, Mimoň and Prague.
In the film, Depardieu plays Ursus, a travelling entertainer. Ursus has adopted and raised from childhood a deformed young man named Gwynplaine and a blind girl, Dea. A spoiled duchess develops a fascination for Gwynplaine and takes him from the family, but she cannot destroy the love that binds the three travellers together.
The Man Who Laughs will see its premierein France at Christmas 2012.
