French auteur Arnaud Desplechin has started shooting his next feature, “The Thing That Hurts,” a bittersweet comedy led by an all-star international cast including Alfre Woodard, J.K. Simmons, Felicity Jones, Jason Schwartzman and Noémie Merlant, alongside Golshifteh Farahani, André Holland and Teddie Allen.
Executive produced by Wes Anderson, the film started filming on Tuesday (April 7) and will take place on location in Brussels and Paris. The movie has been boarded by Gravel Lake Entertainment, Grant Mohrman’s newly launched sales company.
Written by Desplechin and Kamen Velkovsky, the film centers on a group of patients who converge in Paris following the death of their renowned American psychoanalyst. What begins as a gathering to honor his memory evolves into an intimate reckoning, as unexpected connections emerge and long-buried truths surface, revealing the profound and lasting influence the therapist had on each of their lives. Blending humor with emotional depth, the story explores grief, identity and the invisible threads that bind people together.
The film is produced by Daya Fernandez, Amaury Nolasco and Alois Rubenbauer for 3SIX9 Studios; Charles Gillibert for CG Cinema (“The Chronology of Water”); Kamen Velkovsky and Atilla Yücer for Alaz Film (“Sentimental Value”); and Benoit Roland for Wrong Men. It is financed by Silver Screen Global.
Talking about the project to Variety last month, Desplechin described “The Thing That Hurts” as a comedy about expats in Paris, “a little like ‘Midnight in Paris.’”
“There are seven stories. “Like ‘Seven Samurai’ or ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.’ And in the middle there is the queen — the psychoanalyst,” said Desplechin, who added that he contributed to the script by sharing the many funny psychoanalysis stories he knows, while Velkovsky brought his love of American comedy.
“The Thing That Hurts” marks Gravel Lake Entertainment’s first acquisition. “The filmmakers at the center of Gravel Lake’s work are the kinds of artists AI will someday attempt to replicate, original voices whose perspective defines what cinema can be,” said Mohrman. “Our mission is to find them, protect that vision, and connect their work to audiences everywhere.”
One of France’s most distinctive auteurs, Desplechin has premiered most of his films at Cannes, including “My Sex Life… or How I Got Into an Argument,” “A Christmas Tale” and “Ismael’s Ghosts.”
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