''The Palace'' is an upcoming

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

film directed by

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

, who co-wrote the screenplay with

Jerzy Skolimowski Jerzy Skolimowski (, born 5 May 1938) is a Polish film director, screenwriter, dramatist and actor. A graduate of the prestigious National Film School in Łódź, Skolimowski has directed more than twenty films since his 1960 début ''Oko wykol' ...

and Ewa Piaskowska. Produced by

Luca Barbareschi Luca Barbareschi (born 28 July 1956 in Montevideo) is an Italian-Uruguayan actor, television presenter, and former member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Barbareschi is Jewish. He was one of four actors whom the Italian police believed ha ...

, the film stars

Mickey Rourke Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. (; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. During the star of the 1980s, Rourke played supporting roles i ...

Joaquim de Almeida Joaquim António Portugal Baptista de Almeida (born 15 March 1957) is a Portuguese actor. Almeida began his acting career in theatre during the 1980s, he started his film career appearing on the 1982 action film '' The Soldier'', and later ach ...

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...

Oliver Masucci Oliver Masucci (born 6 December 1968) is a German actor. He is best known internationally for the role of Adolf Hitler in the 2015 film adaptation of the satirical novel ''Look Who's Back'', Ulrich Nielsen in the Netflix series ''Dark,'' Anton ...

Fanny Ardant Fanny Marguerite Judith Ardant (born 22 March 1949) is a French actress and film director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two César Awards and a Lumières Award. Early life Ardant was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, Fr ...

Fortunato Cerlino Fortunato Cerlino (born 17 June 1971) is an Italian actor. He has appeared in a number of TV series in both Italy and the United States since 1997. Selected filmography Film Television References External links * 1971 births Living ...

, and Alexander Petrov. The film is set to be released theatrically in Italy on April 6, 2023, by 01 Distribution.

Premise

The film takes place on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

1999, where a dinner party at the

Gstaad Palace The Gstaad Palace is a luxury hotel in Gstaad, Switzerland. It was opened in December 1913 and is known as a notable destination for various celebrities and politicians. It is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. History In 1905, Robert ...

takes an unexpected turn.

Cast

* Alexander Petrov *

Viktor Dobronravov Viktor Fyodorovich Dobronravov (russian: link=no, Виктор Фёдорович Добронра́вов; born 8 March 1983) is a Russian theatre actor, dubbing professional, musician, and leader of the Carpet Quartet group. Merited Artist of ...

* Bronwyn James as Magnolia * Irina Kastrinidis as Dubravka * Olga Kent * Naike Anna Silipo * Matthew T. Reynolds * Teco Celio * Marina Strakhova * Danylo Kotov * Davide Gagliardi

Production

Development

In April 2021, it was announced that

would direct ''The Palace'', a

about guests at the

1999. Polanski co-wrote the screenplay with fellow Polish director

, who also co-wrote Polanski's first feature, ''

Knife in the Water ''Knife in the Water'' ( pl, Nóż w wodzie) is a 1962 Polish psychological thriller film co-written and directed by Roman Polanski in his feature debut, and starring Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, and Zygmunt Malanowicz. Its plot follows a husb ...

'' (1962).

produced the film, under Eliseo Entertainment, alongside

RAI Cinema RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terr ...

, CAB Productions, and Lucky Bob. In April 2022,

, and Alexander Petrov were cast to star in the film, while

Alexandre Desplat Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat (; born 23 August 1961) is a French film composer and conductor. He has won many awards, including two Academy Awards, for his musical scores to the films ''The Grand Budapest Hotel'' and ''The Shape of Water'', ...

and

Paweł Edelman Paweł Edelman (born 26 June 1958) is a Polish cinematographer from Łódź, known for his collaborations with acclaimed directors Roman Polanski and Andrzej Wajda. He was named Best European Cinematographer in 2002 at the European Film Awards ...

served as composer and cinematographer, respectively.

Wild Bunch The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang, or the Oklahombres, were a gang of American outlaws based in the Indian Territory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were active in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Terr ...

sold the film for distribution in Germany and Spain during the

2022 Cannes Film Festival The 75th annual Cannes Film Festival is an upcoming film festival scheduled to take place from 17 to 28 May 2022. The festival will see a tribute to actor Tom Cruise, whose film '' Top Gun: Maverick'' is due to premiere at the festival. The off ...

. Barbareschi said he struggled to find financiers in France, where Polanski is based and most of his previous films were produced.

Hervé de Luze Hervé de Luze (born 1949) is a French film editor with about fifty feature film credits.Tylski, Alexandre (2004) (in French). de Luze had a long collaboration with the director Claude Berri, for whom he edited eight films between 1981 and 1999. ...

and

Carlo Poggioli Carlo Poggioli is an Italian costume designer. Biography Poggioli studied and graduated in stage and costume design at the Istituto D'Arte and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Naples. After completing his studies, Poggioli worked in Rome as assi ...

served as editor and costume designer, respectively. Ewa Piaskowska served as an additional screenwriter, while

, Olga Kent, Naike Anna Silipo, Matthew T. Reynolds, Teco Celio, Marina Strakhova, and Danylo Kotov were added to the cast.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

commenced in February 2022 at the

Gstaad Gstaad ( ; ) is a town in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Bern in southwestern Switzerland. It is part of the municipality of Saanen and is known as a major ski resort and a popular destination amongst high society and the internatio ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and wrapped in June. Filming was originally set to begin in late 2021. By October 19, 2022, the film was in the final editing stages.

Release

''The Palace'' is set to be theatrically released in Italy on April 6, 2023, by 01 Distribution. The film is also set to be theatrically released in Russia in early 2023. The film was originally set to be theatrically released in Europe in November 2022, and in Italy on January 12, 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palace, The Upcoming films 2023 films 2023 comedy films 2023 independent films Italian comedy films Polish comedy films Swiss comedy films Films directed by Roman Polanski Films scored by Alexandre Desplat Films set in 1999 Films set in hotels Films set in Switzerland Films shot in Switzerland Films with screenplays by Jerzy Skolimowski Films with screenplays by Roman Polanski Rai Cinema films