So, apparently, Jacques Audiard is set to direct a movie musical, in Spanish, about a trans-Mexican druglord, or something like that (Hat tip to Jérôme).
French outlet Télérama recently ran a lengthy, 5 episodes piece about Audiard's pre-production for this next film.
In short, Audiard is working on a musical in Spanish, set in the world of drug trafficking in Mexico.
The working title is “Emilia Perez”. The main character is inspired by one chapter of french author Boris Razon's novel "Écoute" (“listen”) and concerns a drug kingpin who disappeared, after changing identity, by undergoing a male-to-female surgical transition.
Audiard co-wrote the movie with his usual writing partner Thomas Bidegain. They will partner with French composer-arranger Clément Ducol for the score and famous French singer Camille, who wrote all the songs (with the help of a Mexican translator) and performed them for the music demo.
Audiard is also working with french music supervisor Pierre-Marie Dru, who worked on “Annette”, among many other projects, and French choreographer Philippe Jamet.
A location scouting trip to Mexico has already taken place. Shooting is scheduled for this summer with Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez set to star, though the casting process for singers and actors has also begun in Mexico. Most likely the main part would be held by a trans actress.