Xavier Dolan signs up all-star cast for English film debut

TORONTO — Oscar winners  Susan Sarandon and Kathy Bates will join Game of Thrones star Kit Harington and Jessica Chastain in the English debut from Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan.

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan will be shot beginning next spring in Montreal, with additional filming scheduled to take place in London, New York and Miami.

Harington plays an actor whose life is torn apart by a columnist (Chastain) who publishes his correspondence with a young fan.

Bates will play the actor’s manager and Sarandon will portray his mother.

The Death and Life was written by Dolan and Montreal actor-director Jacob Tierney (The Trotsky).

Dolan, 25, made his directing debut with I Killed My Mother in 2009 and has followed with acclaimed films like Laurence Anyways and Tom at the Farm.

His latest film, Mommy, is Canada’s official entry in this year’s Foreign Language category at the Academy Awards.

Bates and Sarandon recently starred together in the comedy Tammy. Sarandon is currently shooting the TV miniseries Marilyn in Southern Ontario.

Harington made this year’s Pompeii in Toronto and Chastain starred in made-in-Toronto movies Mama and the upcoming Crimson Peak as well as the Alberta-shot Interstellar.