That is absolutely not my goal. I'll make films here in Quebec for the rest of my life. I'm not attracted to industries or places. I'm attracted to people. So I'll go wherever the actors and stories are.
— Xavier Dolan (@XDolan) January 30, 2018
Jean-Marc Vallée. Denis Villeneuve. Great Quebec filmmakers who are almost certain never to make a film in La Belle Province again. Filmmakers who used to write their own films but "just" direct. Philippe Falardeau might come back to Quebec but that is uncertain.
We didn't necessarily think Xavier Dolan was going to to go down that road. His latest completed film It's Only the End of the World felt way more French than French-Canadian. The film did win the Grand Prix at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and 6 Canadian Screen Awards, including best picture and best director.
Dolan's soon-to-be-released film The Death and Life of John F. Donovan was shot in English in New York and London. His next film will be Matt & Max, a project Dolan plans to shoot in Quebec this fall.
Matt & Max has been described as s story of people in their 20s, reportedly including Dolan's real friends. The core of the plot is about 2 friends who fall in love with each other, neither of whom was inclined to fall in love with a man. Dolan told The Hollywood Reporter that this film "would be a combination of Tom at the Farm, aesthetically, and Mommy in terms of energy and spirit."
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Dolan did find time to have a supporting role in the English-language film Boy Erased.
The other big news from Dolan's upcoming English-language film The Death and Life of John F. Donovan is that Jessica Chastain is no longer in the film. "It was an extremely difficult decision to make. I feel, toward Jessica, a very sincere love, and a great admiration. The decision was editorial and narrative, in that it has nothing to do with a performance, and everything to do with a character and the compatibility of its storyline," Dolan added on an Instagram post.
The Death and Life of John F. Donovan is listed as being in post-production. The film should be released at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival beginning May 8.
Twitter capture: @XDolan
photo credit: The Death and Life of John F. Donovan
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