Ari Folman Gives Update on THE CONGRESS - Will Be 60% Live-Action 40% Animated

Ari Folman recently gave an update on his next film The Congress. Folman first gained attention with his animated film Waltz With Bashir. His new project is loosely based on a story by Stanislaw Lem, and has Robin Wright, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Paul Giamatti, and Danny Huston set to star. The story follows an “actress who makes a deal that changes her future in ways she could never predict.”

What makes The Congress stand out is that it will feature some live-action mixed in with the animation. Here is what Folman had to say in a recent interview with Cinemascope (via /Film):

We just returned from a round of rough-cut screenings in Israel and Europe. The film has 70 minutes of live-action and 50 minutes of animation, the live action part is locked (except for the effects) and the animation is still in the Animatic phase, but most of the designs are done. We’re now going into an insane journey of finishing the animation in 10 months, in five different countries: here, in Jaffa, Poland, Belgium, Germany and Luxemburg. After that, post-production. The movie should be done by January 2013.

The picture at the top is a new image from the animated portion of the film. Below is an old clip that can give you a visual style of the film. Hopefully we will see some of the live-action aspects in the future:

An aging, out of work actress struggles to make ends meet and provide care for her disabled son. Times are tough until she is offered one last job. A major studio will scan her body – they will own her image and likeness and use it anyway they want. It’s a huge paycheck, but there’s a catch: she’ll never be able to act again. The ramifications of her decision have far-reaching effects in the future that she could never imagine.