First Trailer for Michel Hazanacius' 'The Search' Starring Berenice Bejo

After Michel Hazanavicius won five Academy Awards for his silent film send-up, The Artist, one might have expected he'd continue on the lighter comedic path his career had mostly been on. Instead he went a totally different direction with The Search, a wartime drama and remake of the 1948 film set against the backdrop of post-WWII Europe. His version takes the action to 1999 and the aftermath of the second Chechen War. Reuniting with The Artist's Berenice Bejo and joined by Annette Bening, Hazanacicius now finds his film being talked up as a major Palm d'Or contender after its Cannes debut last night, and now we have the first trailer that shows exactly why.

Bejo plays an NGO employee who takes in an orphan boy in the aftermath of the war's inhuman violence, and we see that many of the young victims are forced to become child soldiers. It looks like a powerful piece of filmmaking with Bejo again in top form and what appears to be a solid supporting turn by Bening.  Assuming The Search gets an awards qualifying date later this year it will continue what has been an impressive run of contenders from Bejo, who was also excellent in the Oscar-nominated drama The Past just last year.


The Search by Film Trailer

Read More

Zach Galifianakis, Paul Rudd, and Michel Hazanavicius Set for 'Will'

Some projects just won't go away, and one that keeps finding new life is Will, a high-concept comedy penned by comedian Demitri Martin. It's been sitting on the backburner for a while and once had Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton (Little Miss Sunshine) attached to direct. Zach Galifianakis and Paul Rudd were set to star, but the film went nowhere. It was a couple of years ago that Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) was said to be eying the directing job, only for nothing to happen once again.

Now as Hazanavicius prepares to unspool his war drama The Search to the Cannes audience, word comes that he is again back at the helm for Will, with the same cast in place. Galifianakis is set to star, with Rudd in talks to for the film which is set in a world totally devoid of free will and life pre-ordained in every way. Rudd would play Will, who discovers on his 34th birthday that he can do whatever he wants. Galifianakis would be his rebellious guardian angel. Adding their muscle are Will Ferrell and Adam McKay as producers.

The Search is a rare dramatic turn for Hazanavicius who has mostly directed comedies throughout his career. Filming is set to begin this summer, and after that wraps he'll move on to WWII film In the Garden of Beasts starring Tom Hanks and Natalie Portman with Eric Roth scripting. [Variety]

Read More

Annette Bening and Bérénice Bejo Go On 'The Search' with Michel Hazanavicius

 It's been a couple of years since director Michel Hazanavicius won over the hearts of Oscar voters and audiences with The Artist, earning himself the Best Director award in the process. In that time he hasn't really followed up on it, but has been developing a remake of 1948 WWII drama The Search. While word on it has been pretty quiet, filming has apparently begun in Georgia (er, not the Peach State) with two new additions to the cast.

Annette Bening and The Artist's Bérénice Bejo have signed on to star in the film, which Hazanavicius also adapted the screenplay for. The original Oscar-winning film was set in post-war Berlin and centered on an NGO worker who forms a special relationship with a young boy in war-torn Chechnya.

Hazanavicius is bringing back most of his production team on The Artist for this one, so don't be surprised if The Search attracts similar awards attention in the future.

Read More

Michel Hazanavicius may direct Tom Hanks and Natalie Portman in 'In The Garden Of Beasts'

The five Oscar wins for The Artist did more than just introduce younger audiences to the magic of silent era cinema. It was also an introduction of sorts to star Jean Dujardin, and certainly brought director Michel Hazanavicius into the spotlight. While Hazanacicius already has a couple of other projects cooking, he may be looking to take on another promising new film which already has at least one Oscar winner in tow and the possibility of a second.

Deadline reports that Hazanavicius is in talks to direct an adaptation of In the Garden of Beasts, based on Erik Larson's non-fiction book about the life of William Dodd, the U.S. Ambassador to Germany during the Nazi era. Dodd was one of the first to suspect the full extent of Hitler's plans, while his daughter Martha complicated matters by having physical relationships with a number of top Nazi officials.

The rights to Larson's novel were picked up late last year by Tom Hanks, and the plan is for him to produce and star as William. The role of Martha is being looked at as a possible starring gig for recent Oscar winner Natalie Portman, but no firm deal is in place with her just yet. Since her return to acting she's set herself up for a number of projects, so finding a way to slot this one in could be a problem.

Hazanavicius also has a pretty booked up schedule so if he signs on for this it could be a couple of years before it really gets rolling. But clearly this is a film worth keeping a close watch on and seeing how it develops.

Read More

'The Artist' director to remake post-WWII drama, 'The Search'

A year ago nobody was probably expecting that the director behind the campy OSS 117 spy flicks would be the hottest director in Hollywood, but that's exactly the spot Michel Hazanavicius finds himself in now. His silent movie era hit, The Artist, has secured the Best Picture award from a number of critics' organizations(including our own WAFCA Awards), and has made stars out of Jean Dujardin and the director's wife, Berenice Bejo.

While attending an event in Italy, Hazanavicius revealed his next film will be a remake of 1948's The Search, a post WWII drama about a mother's tireless trek across Europe to find her son, a survivor of Auschwitz. The plan is to update the film by having it take place in war torn Chechnya.

Smartly, both personally and professionally, Hazanavicius has chosen Bejo to take on the female lead, played by Jarmila Novotna in the Fred Zimmerman-directed original. The Search is an amazing film, featuring one of my favorite actors in Montgomery Clift. Not only was he nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, but the film also earned noms for Best Director and Best Screenplay. If you haven't seen it, make it a priority.

Development is still very early on this one, but by all appearances it will be in color and actually feature dialogue, not cue cards. [Variety]

Read More