And just like that, “AND” has a new title.
Yorgos Lanthimos‘ fourth collaboration with “Poor Things” muse Emma Stone has been renamed “Kind of Kindness,” as producer Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe told IndieWire’s Anne Thompson in a new interview. IndieWire confirmed the new title with distributor Searchlight Pictures.
“Kind of Kindness” is in post-production after filming in October 2022 in New Orleans. The film serves as a reunion between Stone and Lanthimos, as well as Stone’s “Poor Things” co-stars Margaret Qualley and Willem Dafoe. “The Favourite” actor Joe Alwyn additionally returns for the Lanthimos project, plus Jesse Plemons, Hong Chau, and “Euphoria” breakout star Hunter Schafer.
The film was first announced in October 2022. Lanthimos directs from a script he co-wrote with Efthimis Filippou; the screenplay was developed by Element Pictures and Film4. The film is produced by Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe of Element, along with Kasia Malipan and writer-director Lanthimos. Ollie Madden and Daniel Battsek are executive producing for Film4, which co-financed the project.
“Working with Yorgos continues to be a highlight for us at Searchlight, and this is yet another truly original project that sets his work apart,” Searchlight Presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield said in a joint statement at the time. “Working again with Emma, Willem, Jesse, and Margaret as well as Element and Film4 is just the icing on the cake.”
Element’s Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe added, “This is our fifth film with Yorgos and we are delighted to re-unite once again with Searchlight and Film4 on this brilliant script by Yorgos and Efthimis. Yorgos has drawn an incredible cast and crew and we are dying to get started.”
While the plot remains under wraps, a New York Times profile on “Poor Things” and “Kind of Kindness” actor Dafoe revealed that during production, Dafoe let co-star Stone slap him 20 times for a shot in which he did not even appear. The actor was not even called to set that day but showed up to help his co-stars get into character by interacting with them out of frame. When that required him to be slapped, he was apparently game to let Stone do it as many times as she needed to.
Lanthimos weighed in on the scene in the interview, saying that Dafoe’s commitment to the role is exactly what he looks for in the actors he chooses to work with.
“That’s what you want from actors,” Lanthimos said. “To want to be part of it in any way.”
Reporting by Anne Thompson.
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