The Death and Life of John F. Donovan

This year’s TIFF lineup has everything: Natalie Portman as a pop star, Jon Snow as a TV heartthrob, and a Lynchian ghost story about a dress.

Xavier Dolan’s English-language debut The Death and Life of John F. Donovan hasn’t yet been announced for the fall festival circuit, but it’s starting to look like it will be soon. Two new posters for the movie seem to claim a spot at either Venice or TIFF is imminent, and show off two more of the movie’s ridiculously talented slate of actors.

Last month, Xavier Dolan fans were treated to a crop of new photos and character details from his upcoming English language debut, The Death and Life of John F. Donovan. We got our first look at Kit Harington looking as dashing as ever as the titular character, Natalie Portman in bangs, an adorable Jacob Tremblay and more. But the real standout was Jessica Chastain, looking devlishing with Hot Cheeto-red hair, dark maroon lipstick and black nail polish. And today Dolan debuted the another stunning look at Chastain on the film’s first poster.

Any fan of French-Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan has kept a close eye on his upcoming English-language debut, The Death & Life of John F. Donovan. The two-time Cannes Jury Prize winning filmmaker has been working on the project for over a year now, and finally today brings the first official synopsis, character details, and first official photos.

One of the most hotly anticipated films on the docket for this year is Dolan’s The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, the filmmaker’s first foray into English-language scripting and his first collaboration with Hollywood A-listers. Another round of casting has brought even more wattage into this buzzy production, with Natalie Portman, Nicholas Hoult, and The Slap’s Thandie Newton all joining the cast in unspecified roles.

Pop songstress Adele and French-Canadian wunderkind filmmaker Xavier Dolan turned out to be a match made in heaven. They collaborated on the buzzy video for Adele’s new single “Hello” and their artistic sensibilities blended perfectly; the heightened emotionality of Dolan’s intimate photography (and that flip phone...

You may not be familiar with the work of Xavier Dolan, the visionary French filmmaker who has already made five great films at the young age of 26, and recently directed the gorgeous video for Adele’s “Hello.” Dolan has two more films on the way, one of which will mark his english-language debut, and he’s collected quite an impressive cast — including Jessica Chastain and Game of Thrones star Kit Harington.