Xavier Always Gets His Way

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Well this is lovely news - Xavier Dolan is hiring Jessica Chastain to star in his next movie! This is the word out of Toronto where his latest movie Mommy just screened (a friend of mine saw it yesterday and was apparently blown away by it) to much love; indeed Chastain herself is a fan, and that's apparently how all of this came about. Ask and ye shall receive, if you're a super-talented hipster savant director, at least. The movie is to be Xav's first English-language one (at least fully English; his characters break into English here and there in his earlier movies), and it will be called The Death and Life of John F. Donovan. Here's what Dolan said:

"There is this character of the editor-in-chief of a gossip magazine. The movie really is a satire of the business -- more dramatic than humorous. And there's this antagonistic figure that wants to ruin the lives of every star, especially that of the lead character. And I reached out to Jessica and she read the script. She loved it, and we got along like hotcakes. That's basically it. I can already foresee all the pleasure we'll have working together."

This is the same movie that Dolan talked about at a Q&A I saw him at here in New York at MoMA way back in March of last year; he made Mommy in the interim but I guess he's decided to make the leap. Last year he really really really, with stars in his eyes, wanted Taylor Kitsch to star in this Hollywood satire as his leading man - with Chastain on board I can't imagine Kitsch, where he is in his career right now, turning such an offer down. That is if Dolan's not moved on himself. I can't imagine anybody turning him down right now. (I wouldn't! Call me, Xav!)
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