Christine Vachon Calls Pedro Pascal "a Revelation" in Todd Haynes' Re-Worked Gay Romance "De Noche"
Pedro Pascal is "a revelation" in Todd Haynes' re-worked gay romance De Noche, producer Christine Vachon told the Edinburgh Film Festival on Friday. Pascal stepped into the lead after Joaquin Phoenix abruptly pulled out before shooting began — an exit Vachon previously called "a tragedy." The film is now in post-production with no release date set. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Vachon did not mince words about the cost of Phoenix's departure. "It was devastating that Todd didn't get to make a movie again that year," she said, referring to the production shutdown that followed the actor walking away. But the mood lightened when the session's host, Wendy Mitchell, joked that she liked Pascal better than Phoenix anyway. Vachon's reply: "I kind of do too!" (The Hollywood Reporter)
Pascal was not the only performer to earn praise. Vachon said both Pascal and co-star Danny Ramirez are "a revelation" in the film. The connection to Pascal came through Vachon's work with him on Celine Song's Materialists, and she was effusive about the actor off-screen as well: people love him, she said, and he is as nice as he seems. (The Hollywood Reporter)
The path back to production was not straightforward. Mk2's Fionnuala Jamison said earlier this year that Killer Films — Vachon's production company — approached the international sales agent about reviving the project after Phoenix dropped out. That conversation, reported in May, framed the deal-making that eventually brought Pascal aboard. (Screen Daily)
Vachon was in Edinburgh with her latest film, Pretty Babies, directed by Tyler-Marie Evans, but her talk ranged well beyond a single title. She discussed the box-office success this year of Obsession and Backrooms, two films she said challenged Hollywood's status quo, and noted that Heated Rivalry "couldn't be a bigger hit" at a moment when politicians in both the United States and the United Kingdom are campaigning on bathroom access issues. (The Hollywood Reporter)
She also reflected on how the landscape for independent and LGBTQ cinema has shifted. When she made films like Poison and Go Fish in the 1990s, LGBTQ audiences could be reached through bars and specific neighbourhoods. That marketing has moved online. The current cinema-going audience, she said, is predominantly under 30. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Streaming, too, has changed the arithmetic. Haynes' 1995 film Safe "didn't do anything at the box office" on release, Vachon noted, and she said she is glad streaming services can now carry such work to wider audiences. The power of narrative to shift perspectives, she added, is stronger than ever — audiences today have more choice and are more diverse than in the era of Poison or Swoon. (The Hollywood Reporter)
For now, De Noche sits in post-production, awaiting a release strategy. What is clear is that the film Pascal rescued from collapse has a producer who believes in what ended up on screen.
