Ensemble cast also includes Susan Sarandon and Kathy Bates<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Sales of the film to launch at AFM<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Entertainment One\u2019s Seville International and Quebec-based distribution arm Les Films S\u00e9ville, alongside producers Lyla Films and Sons of Manual, are pleased to announce THE DEATH AND LIFE OF JOHN F. DONOVAN, the first English-language feature film from award-winning filmmaker Xavier Dolan. With sales of the film set to kick off at the American Film Market (AFM), Seville International will handle international sales of the film in all media around the world, with the exception of France where the producers will jointly handle the rights with Seville International and in the US, where the film will be jointly handled by CAA. eOne and Les Films S\u00e9ville have confirmed that they will directly distribute the film throughout Canada and Qu\u00e9bec.<\/p>\n
\u00a0From writer\/director Xavier Dolan, the all-star ensemble cast includes Kit Harrington (Game of Thrones<\/i>), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty<\/i>), Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking<\/i>, About Ray<\/i>), and Kathy Bates (Titanic<\/i>, American Horror Story<\/i>).<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cI couldn\u2019t feel safer in anybody else\u2019s hands. To know that eOne will be financing this movie is a true mark of their friendship and loyalty,\u201d said Dolan. \u201cWe\u2019re embarking ourselves on quite a journey here – this film is by far my most ambitious, and it has its heaps of risks – but to know I\u2019ll be doing this with the help of eOne and S\u00e9ville International brings me much freedom, and relief. I feel like these people are family now, and this new collaboration certainly proves that blood is thicker than water. We\u2019ve been working together since Tom at the Farm<\/i>, as our Quebec distributor. Then came Mommy<\/i>, on which they handled sales beautifully, as well as domestic distribution, and then It\u2019s Only The End of The World<\/i>, which we will release next year. And now John F. Donovan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve been meaning to tell that story for a long time – before I wrote I Killed My Mother<\/i>. It always is precarious to venture into movies on movies. Everyone scowls when they hear about the next movie on the business. But this isn\u2019t a movie on the business. It is a movie about a man trying to make it, trying to live his dream and his life all at once, and being told that he basically can\u2019t. It also is about a kid dreaming of having this man\u2019s life for all the wrong reasons, not realizing how painful it actually is. I was that kid, writing love letters to actors – as a matter of fact it seems like I still am. And that story is a tribute to both the kid I was and the idols of my childhood – some died, some just disappeared without a trace, because they didn\u2019t fit,\u201d Dolan continued.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cThere were moments of doubt where I thought I couldn\u2019t make that film, or tell that story. But it is so deeply anchored within me and such an important part of the past years of my life spent witnessing all the peculiarities, contradictions, inequities and phobias of this business that I realized I just had to make this movie, no matter what. And dye Jessica\u2019s hair carmine red, asap,” Dolan also stated.<\/p>\n
\u00a0In THE DEATH AND LIFE OF JOHN F. DONOVAN, 10 years after the death of an American TV star he corresponded with as a teenager, a young actor recollects the pen-pal relationship he used to have with his past idol. The film explores the hardships of fame and hurdles of the movie business through the lives of both, now and then, and reflects on the issue of identity and diversity in Hollywood over the past decade.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Lyla Films\u2019 Lyse Lafontaine and Sons of Manual\u2019s Xavier Dolan and Nancy Grant will serve as producers along with executive producer Joe Iacono.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cAs Xavier\u2019s first English-language feature, it\u2019s very exciting to be announcing the film ahead of the AFM. Alongside Nancy and Xavier, I am thrilled to be working with Seville International on this compelling world-class project,\u201d said Lafontaine.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cWe are thrilled to partner with Lyse, Xavier and Nancy on this landmark film, and to share it with the world. Xavier is on a roll and we are incredibly excited to be along again for this, his next great adventure. His incredible passion, storytelling genius and track record of success have brought this remarkable cast together and we can\u2019t wait to discuss the film with our partners at AFM,\u201d said Anick Poirier, Senior Vice President of Sales, Seville International. \u201cIt’s a priority for Les Films S\u00e9ville and eOne to support and encourage the growth of Canadian talent by building strong, long-term relationships. It is particularly gratifying to accompany such an ambitious creator as Xavier Dolan who continues to pursue his unique vision in his own special way. I was blown away by the script for THE DEATH AND LIFE OF JOHN F. DONOVAN and I am deeply satisfied that our participation will permit this project to become a reality,\u201d added Patrick Roy, President, eOne Films Canada & Les Films S\u00e9ville.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Production is set to begin Spring 2016.<\/p>\n
\u00a0The deal was negotiated by Lafontaine, Dolan and Iacono with eOne Features President Xavier Marchand, Poirier and Roy and with CAA.\u00a0 Dolan is represented by CAA and Thor Bradwell at LBI Entertainment, LLC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
2015-11-04<\/em> – Ensemble cast also includes Susan Sarandon and Kathy Bates Sales of the film to launch at AFM Entertainment One\u2019s Seville International and Quebec-based distribution arm Les Films S\u00e9ville, alongside producers… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lylafilms.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lylafilms.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lylafilms.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lylafilms.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lylafilms.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2257"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lylafilms.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2262,"href":"https:\/\/lylafilms.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2257\/revisions\/2262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lylafilms.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lylafilms.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lylafilms.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}