THE SON Film Project (Potential SPOILERS)

[jo]

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Quoted in an article referring to the film wrap.

‘The Son’ revolves around Peter (essayed by Hugh Jackman) whose busy life with his new partner Emma (played by Vanessa Kerby) takes an interesting turn when his former wife Kate (Laura Dern) enters his life with their teenage but troubled son Nicholas. How Peter comes to terms with the tricky situation and attempts to help his distant son by being a good father, forms the rest of the film’s plotline.

This is also the official publicity material main plotline description.

[njr]

Hugh also played Stanley Jobson, dad to Holly in Swordfish. 😉
(she was 11 in the movie and is now 31!)

[jo]

Hugh had been in Cannes before, but the movie ( XMen:The Last Stand) was only in the non-competition category.

The Fountain was refused entry for the competition category ( they only wanted it for the Non-competition screening but Aronofsky refused it - it went to Venice instead).

Hopefully, THE SON will be completed in time ( usually in May) and will be a welcome addition to the Cannes Film Festival.

What will help its chances is the fact that Florian Zeller is a very celebrated playwright in his native France!


Jo

[jo]

From Hugh's wrap post --

From London to Marseilles to the streets of NYC.

I wonder why they chose MARSEILLES? It is a major port...but not exactly a vacation spot for many, but maybe a place where something dramatic happened to Peter and his family?

[jo]

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It seems the scenes were filmed not exactly in the port city of Marseille but in nearby Cassis. Hugh and his family have been to St Tropez ( about an hour's drive to Cassis) on holiday in the past, so the atmosphere is something he is familiar with.

Somehow, do scenes filmed there create a different kind of aura to a part of the movie? Provence somehow creates that near-dreamy atmosphere?

[jo]

Translated from Portuguese by Google

ANTHONY HOPKINS and ZEN MCGRATH will be in a new movie called "The Son" by director Florian Zeller (from "My Dad").

In addition to the two, will also be Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern and Vanessa Kirby in the cast.

Photo includes image of Hopkins, but truncated when tweet is reproduced.


This confirms what was earlier mentioned in an Anthony Hopkins interview.

[jo]

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Anthony Hopkins Joins Cast of ‘The Father’ Follow-up ‘The Son’
Newcomer Zen McGrath will also co-star in Florian Zeller's new drama.


BY SCOTT ROXBOROUGH

Anthony Hopkins has joined the cast of Florian Zeller’s The Son, the director’s follow-up to The Father, which won Hopkins the best actor Oscar for his lead performance.

Hopkins joins Hugh Jackman, Laura Dean and Vanessa Kirby in the all-star The Son cast. Australian newcomer Zen McGrath will also co-star.

The Son has just wrapped production in London. Iain Canning and Emile Sherman of See-Saw Films are producing alongside Zeller and The Father producer Christophe Spadone.

“After our journey on The Father, I couldn’t make another film without Anthony,” Zeller said in a statement. “He was the first one to read The Son‘s script, as one of its characters was written especially for him. Having him by our side to tell this new story has been an honor, a profound joy and very emotional.”


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Commenting on McGrath’s casting in the film’s titular role, Zeller said he wanted a “new unexpected face” for the part. “After a global casting search, I found Zen and was immediately dazzled by his intensity and his emotional power.”

Zeller and The Father co-writer Christopher Hampton adapted The Son from Zeller’s acclaimed stage play. The film follows Peter (Jackman) and his new partner, Beth (Kirby), whose life with their new baby is thrown into disarray when his ex-wife, Kate (Dern), turns up with their teenage son, Nicholas (McGrath). Details of Hopkins’ role were not revealed. The Son was filmed on location in New York, France and London.

Zeller’s The Father, his directorial debut, won Oscars for Hopkins for best actor and for Zeller and Hampton for best-adapted screenplay. The film picked up four additional Academy Award nominations including for best picture. The Son does not follow the same characters as the first film.

Sony Pictures Classics have picked up rights for The Son for the U.S., China and multiple international territories.

Embankment and Cross City, which are handling international sales, have pre-sold the rest of the world, with key deals including with STX for the U.K., Benelux, Italy, Scandinavia and Iceland, with Elevation for Canada, Leonine for Germany, Green Narae for South Korea and Kino for Japan.

Florian Zeller is represented by Agence Adequat and CAA, Zen McGrath is represented by Emma Raciti Management and Artists Rights Group and Anthony Hopkins is represented by Jeremy Barber at United Talent Agency and his legal representative is Mitch Smelkinson.

Such a starry cast! Excellent for publicity

It's a good thing, Hugh Jackman has never been upstaged - on film or stage ( one of his uncanny abilities mentioned by an early acting teacher - the director of Beauty and the Beast)?

Jo

[jo]

[jo]

http://instagram.com/p/CU5Q-1RIQ-j

[jo]

A supposed "indie" which sells out globally even if it has just completed filming!

Hope an expected artistic success is also a box office star!


deadline.com/2021/10/florian-zellers-the-son-sells-out-globally-embankment-cross-city-1234853867/#comments

Florian Zeller’s ‘The Son’ Sells Out Globally; Anthony Hopkins & Zen McGrath Join Cast
By Tom Grater

October 11, 2021 9:31am

Embankment and Cross City have sold out on The Son, Florian Zeller’s second feature following the Oscar winning The Father.

Joining the previously announced deal with Sony Pictures Classics for the U.S., China and multiple international territories, are: UK, Benelux, Italy, Scandinavia & Iceland (STX), Canada (Elevation), France (Orange), Germany (Leonine), Switzerland (Ascot), Spain, Latin America and Portugal (Sun), CIS (Exponenta), Japan (Kino), Australia & New Zealand (Transmission), Airlines (Echo Lake), Greece (Spentzos), South Africa (Empire), Israel (United King), Middle East (Front Row), South Korea (Green Narae).


Filming has now wrapped on the movie, with Zen McGrath and Anthony Hopkins having joined the cast, which was previously announced as featuring Hugh Jackman, Vanessa Kirby and Laura Dern.

Producers are Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Joanna Laurie, Christophe Spadone and Zeller.

The film is again adapted from a Zeller stage play, forming a trilogy with his plays The Father and The Mother. The Son follows Peter (Jackman) as his busy life with new partner Beth (Kirby) and their baby is thrown into disarray when his ex-wife Kate (Dern) turns up with their teenage son, Nicholas (McGrath).

Hope a deal can also be worked out for our part of the world.


Jo

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Hugh has replied to Florian Zeller's instagram post on the film wrap.

http://instagram.com/p/CU5Q-1RIQ-j

hehughjackman
Verified
Thank you @florianzellerofficiel for your direction, patience, words and constant support!

[jo]

Florian Zeller drama trilogy!

[jo]

Laura Dern's message re Florian's Instagram post --

lauradern
Verified
Congratulations, Florian, on wrapping! What a miraculous journey to get to be part of, sir. You are a true dream and guide and you created a forever family for us.

[jo]

The character of Hopkins in The Son must be a new one. Zeller wrote the original play in French years ago before he worked with Hopkins in The Father. He said he wrote Hopkins's part with him in mind when he adapted the screenplay of The Son.

[jo]

[jo]

Sundance audiences want to see THE SON --

www.indiewire.com/2021/11/sundance-wish-list-films-2022-1234679126/

Sundance Wish List: 40 Films We Hope Will Premiere at the 2022 Festival
After launching an ambitious hybrid festival in 2021, the annual event is readying for a more traditional format this year. Here's what cinephiles might expect to see in Park City.
By Kate Erbland and Eric Kohn

Nov 22, 2021 10:00 am

Firstly, it seems like something of a miracle that any film will be premiering at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Like, in-person, in theaters, in Park City. After launching an ambitious — and quite popular — hybrid festival for its 2021 edition, the annual event is preparing for a slightly more traditional event in 2022. As announced earlier this year, online screenings will still take place in 2022, but Park City is readying to mount a larger in-person event as well.

And while we can’t wait for that, there’s a whole pack of other eager would-be Sundance attendees feeling a very different kind of anticipation these days: the filmmakers. While the end of November spells the start of holiday time for most, it also comes with a particular anxiety for those who have submitted their film to the fest. As we approach the inevitable lineup announcements, we’ve done our usual scouting around to see what might make its way to the mountains of Utah this year.

There’s no shortage of possibilities, including a wide variety of films shot under various COVID protocols, plus some potential holdovers from the before times. In the process of researching our annual Sundance wish list, IndieWire had no trouble finding nearly 40 movies that we hope make the cut in this year’s lineup. There are returning favorites here, and fresh new talents. A number of films have kept their details very much under wraps, while others have long been rumored. Truly, something for everyone, and plenty to celebrate.

Filmmakers are starting to hear back from the festival and the full selection is expected to go public next month, but in the meantime, here’s a look at several strong contenders for a most unusual edition of America’s most prominent festival.

The 2022 edition of the Sundance Film Festival runs January 20 through 30, both in-person and virtually.

Among the wanted choices --

“The Son”
Director: Florian Zeller
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Zen McGrath, Anthony Hopkins

The last time playwright Florian Zeller adapted one of his works for the screen, it was his feature directorial debut “The Father,” which dazzled Sundance 2020 on its way to six Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture) and wins for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor for Anthony Hopkins. Zeller’s next movie, “The Son,” has similar DNA, as it’s another adaptation of one of the director’s stage works.


This time it’s Zeller’s 2018 play of the same name, which centers on a husband whose life is thrown into disarray when his ex-wife shows up with their troubled and angry teenage son. Zeller has assembled a heavyweight cast of dramatic actors, from Hugh Jackman to Laura Dern and Vanessa Kirby, and has recruited his Oscar-winning Hopkins to appear in a supporting role. The film shot from August to October, so it’s not out of the question for Zeller to make a tight turnaround and blow the roof off of Park City once again. —ZS

My gut feel is that audiences will see it at one of the filmfests when Hugh takes his Music Man vacation?

Jo

[jo]

Mr. Jackman will not be appearing in THE MUSIC MAN on the following dates:
August 15–21, 2022
September 5–11, 2022
October 10–16, 2022
(These dates currently not on sale.)

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Given the new prominence of Florian Zeller film adaptations —
maybe not at Sundance but at any of these festivals.

The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 48th Telluride Film Festival took place on September 2–6, 2021.

The 78th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 1 to 11 September 2021

The 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, the 46th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 9 to 18, 2021.[1]

Less well-known but also impessive --

The San Sebastián International Film Festival (SSIFF, Spanish: Festival de San Sebastián; Basque: Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in the Basque Country.[1][2]

NYC's own festival will open in June --

NEW YORK - The Tribeca Festival today announced that its 21st edition will take place June 8-19, 2022 in New York City.

Hugh Jackman and The Music Man - both NYC based - so it could be easy to fit any festival event within HJ's schedule?

[jo]

He's carrying a briefcase but it got truncated when I copied the photo.

He is supposed to be a lawyer ( aiming to be a politician) in the story)


Jo