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Film News: Lineup mixes arthouse films with big budget fare — This year’s Rendez-Vous lineup reveals two recurring trends of contemporary French cinema: intimate, character-based dramas that have been the mark of Gallic films for decades, and bigger, more commercial-minded genre fare aimed at international markets.

Film News: Horror pic produced by Eli Roth, StudioCanal, Strike — Lionsgate has grabbed U.S. distribution rights to “The Last Exorcism,” a verite-style horror pic produced by Strike Entertainment, StudioCanal and genre maven Eli Roth.

Film News: Nature pic holds No. 2 spot after ‘Avatar’ — French nature docu “Oceans” is on track to set a B.O. record for the genre in Japan.

Film News: Prod’n topper has track record with comedies, genre material — Universal Pictures has upped Scott Bernstein to exec VP of production.

Film News: Nikkatsu studio reboots a cinema form used as a launchpad for helmers — Nikkatsu is reviving its signature “roman porno” genre, on which many mainstream helmers cut their teeth, after a 22-year gap.

Film News: Org voters feared reality shows killed off genre — News about the death of broadcast sitcoms has been greatly exaggerated, certainly if the Golden Globe nominations are any indication.

Film News: ‘Gossip Girl’ thesp to star in Dark Castle pic — Sebastian Stan (“Gossip Girl”) is heading for a haunting, opposite “Twilight” thesp Ashley Greene in “The Apparition” for Joel Silver’s Dark Castle genre label.