Sony Pictures Classics has “acquired all North American rights to Sylvain Chomet‚Äôs THE ILLUSIONIST from Pathe. The film is based on an unproduced screenplay by Jacques Tati and is produced by Bob Last and executive produced by Jake Eberts and Philippe Carcassonne (COCO BEFORE CHANEL). THE ILLUSIONIST had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival as a Berlinale Special Selection. ¬†It is planned for an end of year release.”
Here is an earlier Indiewire piece on Sylvain Chomet, wherein the plot is described this way, “Set in the 1950s, Tati‚Äôs story looks at an aging man‚ÄîTati himself‚Äîand a young girl (he is said to have written ‚ÄúThe Illusionist‚Äù for an estranged daughter). The older man, a traveling magician named Tatischeff, introduces the girl to the world at a time when a lot is changing.”