It’s shaping up to be a Huston family Christmas.
Siblings and Hollywood royalty Angelica and Danny Huston are teaming up on a new project, The Christmas Witch Trials of La Befnaa hybrid animated and live-action feature film currently shooting in Los Angeles and Ontario, Canada.
Highball TV confirmed details of the film, which was written by David James Brook and Highball TV’s Melissa D’Agostino based on an idea they conceived with Matt Campina who along with D’Agostino are also directing, who are often creative partners. Jonathan Sharp is producing.
The plot follows a whimsical court case in a rural Italian village after children kidnap their fictional Christmas witch, played by Huston, and prevent her annual judgment from their lives. He is prosecuted in an attempt to Casting spells through witches, fantasy and Italian folklore, the project is said to touch on universal themes of grief, community, love and family. Danny plays Bifano from Angelica’s Bifana.
Actors Jesse Gervasi, Maia Masaljevic, Luca Dolgiris, Mia Swaminathan, Paolo Mancini, Tara Consoli, Joan Chevern, Phil Luzzi and D’Agostino join the cast. The Christmas Witch Trials of La Befna Marks the first animated feature for Canada-based production outfit HighballTV. Also note: The film will feature a soundtrack of original songs written by Brooke, D’Agostino and Rebecca Everett.
The project marks the re-teaming of the siblings who have collaborated on a handful of Hollywood projects over the years. In a promotional video received by The Hollywood Reporterthe Hustons reveal both why they said yes to the project and how they first learned about the origins of Bifana, a well-known presence in Italian folklore.
“I learned a little bit about La Bafana while I was doing it. The Life Aquatic With Wes Anderson in Rome. In the winter before Christmas they have a festival where La Belfana is celebrated and they have lots of puppets and La Belfana flying. [with] Women on broomsticks,” Angelica explained. Danny added: “I grew up in Rome as a kid, so Bifana was a very popular character. She was in a way competitive with Santa Claus. [or] Father Christmas. In Italy, Easter is a bigger occasion than Christmas, so the characters of the broom and the hooded befana are very popular.
Angelica described her as a “beautiful, scary witch”, a fact that made her say yes. “I love playing witches,” she added. “So it was kind of a no-brainer, and it just seemed like fun, like a good time to do it.” He previously headlined Nicolas Roeg’s 1990 film Topline. Witches. “I love playing evil witches,” the actress continued. “I played Morticia Addams, a beloved witch, and a great witch. Witches For Nic Roeg, and I have to say… it was one of my favorite experiences just because it encouraged me to be bad and there was something sacrilegious about it.
Danny called working with his sister in the role “one of the highlights of my career”. They used to work together before. Mr. Northa 1988 adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s novel, directed by Danny and starring Angelica opposite Anthony Edwards, Robert Mitchum, Lauren Bacall and Harry Dean Stanton. Most recently, they teamed up in the 2006 small screen series Secret One: Element of the Abyss opposite Stephen Dorff, Mira Sorvino and Blair Underwood. “It’s great to have this opportunity again,” Danny said.
Danny is coming off a busy few months starring the veteran actor and filmmaker. The Crow, Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 and Viggo Mortensen The Dead Don’t Hurt. He in the next stars Bare gun Reboot opposite Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Houser, and Kevin Durand. He is repped by UTA, Untitled Entertainment, UTA, law firm Myman, Greenspan, Fox, Rosenberg, Mobasser, Younger & Light and Julian Belfrage Associates in London.
Angelica is repped by WME and Christian Hodel at Hamilton Hodel in the UK. She next appears on the big screen. John Wick opposite Anna d’Armes and in the BBC and Britbox limited series spin-off Ballerina Towards zero Based on the Agatha Christie novel of the same name, opposite Matthew Rhys, Oliver Jackson Cohen, Ella Lily Hyland and Mimi Kane.
Credit : www.hollywoodreporter.com
