Twitch

Quite bizzare news coming out of France this weekend. Variety reported that a Paris court had ruled that director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's A Very Long Engagement is really a Hollywood movie. This ruling will deny the producers access to the Gallic subsidy system, CNC, The National Center for Cinematography. 2003 Productions, a French company acting as the delegated producer for Warner Bros. would have been eligible to claim a share of the box office for reinvestment in future French productions under this system.

But the court canceled the CNC approval, saying that 2003 Productions was created solely "to allow the company Warner Bros. France ... to benefit from financial help even though (the fund) is reserved for the European cinematographic industry."

The head of 2003, Francis Boespflug, denieds the allegation that his company is a cover for Warner. "This film, which tells a French story, adapted from a French novel, filmed entirely in France, in French, with the participation of more than 2,000 French people, over thirty French actors and actresses and about 500 French technicians for 18 months, is suddenly no longer considered a French film!"

And it just gets worse for Jeunet and his crew. With this ruling the movie cannot compete in the Cesar awards - Gaul's equivalent of the Oscars - except as a foreign film, and excludes its actors from being nominated.

Jeunet's movie cannot even become a candidate for the prestigious Cannes Film Festival awards because it will have been screened outside its country of origin, France. Movies shown at Cannes must not have been screened outside the country where they originate ahead of the festival.

"A Very Long Engagement" also faces legal action from Corsicans angered by what they consider to be the movie's demeaning treatment of the population from the French Mediterranean island.

Jeunet can still hope for honors in the United States but not the best foreign film Oscar, because the film did not open in France in time to qualify. It is, however, eligible for Oscar nominations for best picture, actress or director.

It's not much of a silver lining but we'll take what we can get.

via ComingSoon and Yahoo! Movies.