GERMANY'S CONSTANTIN, JAPAN'S TOHO TEAM UP ON 'MONSTER HUNTER'

The two local mini-majors will co-finance the video game adaptation starring Milla Jovovich, which Sony will release in the rest of the world, including stateside through its Screen Gems label.

Regional film giants Constantin from Germany and Toho Co. from Japan are joining forces to co-finance Monster Hunter, the new video game adaptation fromResident Evil director Paul W.S. Anderson.

Constantin will release the film, based on the hit game from Japanese developer Capcom, in German-speaking territories, with Toho taking rights in Japan. Sony Pictures Releasing International will handle distribution in the rest of the world, withMonster Hunter going out under its Screen Gems genre label stateside.

Resident Evil's Milla Jovovich stars alongside Tony Jaa, Ron Perlman, T.I. Harris and Diego Boneta in the feature, which begins shooting this month.

The plot centers on the leader of a UN military team, played by Jovovich, who is transported to another realm populated by monsters. There she meets the Hunter (Jaa), and the two team up to close a portal to prevent monsters from attacking Earth. Anderson penned the script and is also producing the pic with longtime cohorts Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer.

Monster Hunter's financial model, linking mini-majors in two of the world's top markets together with the marketing might of a U.S. studio, is unusual and will be watched closely, given the challenges independent distributors face with bigger-budget releases.

"In a shifting market environment, to make a brand-based movie like Monster Hunterand bring it to a global audience warrants a partnership of such great companies and the sterling creative team we have assembled,” said Martin Moszkowicz, executive chairman of Constantin Film, in announcing the deal. Toho president Yoshishige Shimatani added that the company looked forward to “bringing more films based on Japanese IP” such as Monster Hunter to a global audience.

Constantin Film's Moszkowicz, Nick Hanks, Gero Worstbrock and Norbert Hermannstadter, together with Steve Saltzman and Gregg Ramer of Paul Hastings, negotiated the deal on behalf of Constantin, with Jill Smith of Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Carlo on behalf of Toho.