Xavier Dolan

Director Andy Muschietti has assembled an exceptional ensemble of stars to play the grown-up members of the Losers Club in IT: Chapter Two, but he’s not done just yet. The upcoming sequel to last year’s horror hit has just landed a pair of actors for two supporting, but crucial roles — including indie filmmaker and actor Xavier Dolan, who will play the most heartbreaking character of all in a brutal scene that we were sure wouldn’t make it into the sequel.

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.

If you can’t decide what to watch this weekend, ScreenCrush’s Staff Picks are here to help. They’re like the recommendations at an old video store, except you don’t have to put on pants or go outside to get them. Here are four things to watch this weekend:

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.

The actual Academy Award nominations won’t be announced until January 24, but plenty of categories get a jump on the process by winnowing down the slate of eligible films to a shortlist from which the five nominees can be culled. The Animated Feature category should come forward with their shortlist any day now, the Documentary Feature category feature has already done so, and last night, some global talents of cinema found themselves shut out in the cold when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released their nine choices for the Foreign Language Film shortlist.

June is a month of victory for the LGBTQ community. It’s the one time of the year lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people, and all other spectrums of queer sexualities and gender identities come together to honor the queer heroes who rioted, fought, and persevered before us. It’s a time of joy, of marching in parades, dancing in queer nightclubs and seeking comfort, safety, and acceptance as an LGBTQ person. But this year that sacred month of celebration was tarnished by the largest hate crime the LGBTQ community has ever faced.

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.