The Death & Life of John F. Donovan is a Canadian drama film, co-written, co-produced, and directed by Xavier Dolan, in his English-language debut. It stars Kit Harington, Jacob Tremblay, Natalie Portman, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Thandie Newton, Ben Schnetzer, and Jared Keeso. The film deals with themes of celebrity, tabloid media in Hollywood, mother-son relationships, and homosexuality. It is presented as three different sequences of scenes interspersed during the film: a series set in 2017 showing a young actor who reminisces about the written correspondence he shared as a child with an American TV star who died since then, and two other series set in the mid-2000s depicting the lives of both characters at the time of the correspondence. The Death & Life of John F. Donovan had its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, making it Dolan's first film to premiere at the festival.
| Director | Xavier Dolan |
| Produced by | Nancy Grant, Lyse Lafontaine, Xavier Dolan |
| Screenplay by | Xavier Dolan, Jacob Tierney |
| Story by | Xavier Dolan |
| Starring | Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Jacob Tremblay, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates |
| Narrator | Michael Gambon |
| Music | Gabriel Yared |
| Cinematography | André Turpin |
| Edited by | Xavier Dolan, Mathieu Denis |
| Production, company | Lyla Films, Sons of Manual |
| Distributed by | Les Films Séville |
| Released | September 10, 2018 (TIFF), March 13, 2019 (France), August 23, 2019 (Canada), December 13, 2019 (United States) |
| Running time | 123 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $3.3 million |
About The Death and Life of John F. Donovan
About ten years after the death of an American TV star, a young actor reminisces about the impact a series of letters had on him that he shared with the late performer.
Achievement of The Death and Life of John F. Donovan
Jessica Chastain and Bella Thorne were cast in the film, but their characters were cut from the film due to timing and pacing reasons. The movie was directed by Xavier Dolan.
Top Facts You Did Not Know About The Death and Life of John F. Donovan
Films directed by Xavier Dolan.. Films shot in Prague.. Films set in Prague.. Films set in Pennsylvania.. Canadian LGBT-related films.. Films about filmmaking.. Films shot in Montreal.. Films about actors.. Gay-related films.
Latest information about The Death and Life of John F. Donovan updated on July 28 2021.
