The trailer for Xavier Dolan‘s first English language film Death & Life of John F. Donovan has just been released. The movie is about film star named John F. Donovan, played by Kit Harington, who falls from fame after a series of scandals labels him a controversial actors. He then dies, but not before befriending a an 11 year-old boy named Rupert Turner, played by Jacob Tremblay, and becomes his pen pal. 10 years later, when Turner is grown up, he writes a book about Donovan and reveals a side of him not yet seen by anyone before.
In the trailer Turner’s mother, played by Natalie Portman, warns her son to stay away from the disgraced actor. We then see flashes of Turner as a young kid shot against cuts of him as an adult talking to a journalist about his relationship with Donovan. Check it out below.
Rounding out the impressive cast are Ben Schnetzer, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Michael Gambon, Thandie Newton, Emily Hampshire, Jared Keeso, Chris Zylka, Ari Millen and Sarah Gadon. However, shots of the film featuring Jessica Chastain and Bella Thorne were cut in post-production. Dolan wrote the screenplay with co-creator of Canadian sitcom Letterkenny Jacob Tierney. The film was produced by Dolan, Nancy Grant, and Lyse Lafontaine.
While filming went on in 2016 and 2017, Dolan wasn’t satisfied with the final cut until it made its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. Though John F. Donovan was released in France in March this year, the film will make its domestic debut on December 13.
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