‘Oh, Canada’ Producers Talk Nerve-Racking Wait For Interim Agreement – Cannes
deadline.comPaul Schrader hit Cannes this weekend with Competition title Oh, Canada, reuniting him with American Gigolo star Richard Gere in the role of a terminally ill documentarian who reveals secrets as his life nears its end.
Lead producer David Gonzales says the fact that the film was ready for a Cannes splash was a miracle on a number of fronts. Development began just 18 months ago after Schrader learned that his good friend, writer Russell Banks was suffering from cancer.
Schrader, who previously adapted Banks’ novel Affliction to the big screen, felt compelled to make a new film based on Banks’ penultimate 2021 book ‘Foregone’, which the writer had originally wanted to title ‘Oh, Canada’. “He said, ‘This is my next film, I can see the film in my head.’ We’re going back to the end of 2022,” says Gonzales, who secured the rights.
Banks died in January 2023 as Schrader was mid-screenplay. Gonzales says this did not overly impact the writing process, with Schrader having nailed down the structure of the screenplay early on in the writing process.“Paul has this ingenious writing style, all the way since Taxi Driver, whereby he takes a yellow legal pad and outlines in excruciating detail, every plot point, story development, character arc.
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