It’s been a couple of years now since French director Michel Hazanavicius took the cinematic world by storm with this silent cinema homage, “The Artist.” The box office hit and critical favorite took home five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Jean Dujardin and Best Score for Ludovic Bource. Not a bad boost for a filmmaker who was previously best known for his spy movie spoofs, “OSS 117.” Undoubtedly, expectations are going to be sky high on whatever he’s working on next, but he’s found a solution to keep the noise at bay: shoot in secret.
Back in 2012, just before he’d take the stage at the Oscars, it was announced that Hazanavicius would be remaking Fred Zinnemann‘s 1948 post-war drama “The Search.” The original involved a Czech mother and son looking for each other after surviving a concentration camp, but Hazanavicius has moved it to the present day, relocating the story to Chechnya, with his wife and “The Artist” co-star Bérénice Bejo in the lead as a woman working for an NGO. But even more surprising, Cineuropa reveals that “The Search” has been shooting since August, with cameras rolling in the country of Georgia with production moving soon to Paris. And that’s about all the details there are right now.
“The Artist” producer Thomas Langmann is behind the film, with Hazanavicius also reteaming with his DOP Guillaume Schiffman. According to PurePeople, Annette Bening is reportedly part of the cast, but that has yet to be confirmed. But more details are likely to be revealed soon as “The Search” is expected to hit major film markets soon looking for distribution, and we can only imagine it will be a presence at the American Film Market next month. For the moment, Warner Bros. has the rights for France but everywhere else is up for grabs. And we’d bet Harvey Weinstein will be eager to take a look considering the success he had last time out with Hazanavicius.
The other question is whether or not the director will return to Cannes next spring. We’ll have to wait and see but we’re sure Thierry Fremaux and co. will do everything they can to bring Hazanavicius back.
