After the impressive success of their animated feature, Persepolis, Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi return to the big screen with Chicken with Plums, a captivating live-action fairytale full of whimsy, humor, magic and despair.  Adapted from Satrapi’s graphic novel of the same name about a renowned musician who loses interest in life after the destruction of his favorite violin, the film pays homage to a number of well-known filmmakers and cinematic styles.

In an exclusive interview, I talked to Paronnaud about their decision to adapt Satrapi’s graphic novel to film, how their aesthetic worlds complement one another, how they collaborated on co-directing the film, what impressed him most about working with live actors, and why they chose the film’s unusual narrative structure and marriage of styles.  Paronnaud also revealed he is currently working on a comic book about the Old and the New Testament and a screenplay for a very violent thriller.  Hit the jump for more.

Oscar-nominated director Marjane Satrapi brings magic to the screen once again with Chicken with Plums, her second full-length movie co-directed with Vincent Paronnaud, which opens in Los Angeles on August 31st.  It’s a stylish, timeless fable filled with humor, caprice and melancholy about a talented musician who loses his will to live.  Adapted from Satrapi’s graphic novel of the same name, Chicken with Plums is the second volume in a trilogy that began with Persepolis and stars Mathieu Amaric with Maria de Medeiros, Golshifteh Farahani, Isabella Rossellini and Edouard Baer.

In an exclusive interview, Satrapi talked to us about the graphic novel that inspired the film, what it was like shifting from animation to live action direction, what fueled her creative collaboration with Paronnaud, and how she dealt with the challenges of marrying distinctly different visual styles and genres in a non-linear storyline.  She also discussed her upcoming project, Tale of the Hanging Head.  Hit the jump for more.

I understand it’s much cooler to talk about how The Simpsons passed its prime ages ago, but I still unabashedly love the show.  Last night’s episode, in which Bart’s semi-autobigraphical animated short Angry Dad wins a slew of awards, was a good one for the rest of you.  The animation geeks at The Simpsons take the opportunity to experiment: the CG of Pixar, the claymation of Wallace and Gromit, the star black-and-white of Persepolis, the crude Frenchness of The Triplets of Belleville.  Plus, Ricky Gervais, Russell Brand, Halle Berry, and Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park all contribute to a sharp lampoon of awards season.  Watch the relevant clips — or if you’ll allow me, the full episode — after the jump.

Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, the duo who adapted Satrapi 2000′s graphic novel Persepolis, are re-teaming to adapt Satrapi’s 2006 book Chicken with Plums with Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly).  The live-action adaptation, which will be re-titled Waiting for Azrael, is also a true story of life in Iran, this time focusing on her great-uncle Nasser Ali Khan, one of Iran’s most revered musicians.  Ion Cinema also reports that Amalric will be joined by an American A-list actor but wouldn’t say who at this time.

Hit the jump for the official product description.  Filming is set to begin this summer in Berlin.