Alexander Payne’s Next Film Will Be Shot in Paris and Entirely in French

After Woody Allen and Richard Linklater, here comes another American director who wants to shoot a film in France, entirely in French.

In Anne Thompson’s excellent interview with Alexander Payne, there’s some interesting information about what he plans to be his next film and, yes, Payne wants to shoot a Parisian-set film in French.

“It’s based on an article in Vanity Fair about five years ago about rival antique chair dealers. That script is maybe 65 percent of the way there. I was working with a French screenwriting team, they do Jacques Audiard movies. And they wrote it in French, did a couple of drafts that I had translated in English, and Jim Taylor and I have been doing some work on it. And then we’re going to get it towards some [state] directable by me.”

Payne is already developing an 1880s Nebraska Western with his “The Holdovers” screenwriter David Hemingson, but he says that one’s probably “gonna take a minute,” adding “these things take a long time.” So, more than likely, we’ll be seeing Payne’s Paris film before the Western. Consider us intrigued.

In the meantime, Payne has “The Holdovers” getting released in theaters this Friday. You can read my semi-positive review of the film here. It’s a wholesome, earnest and entirely predictable film, but it’s wonderfully likeable and features another great performance from Paul Giamatti.

Payne is the filmmaker behind such gems as “Nebraska,” “Election” and “Sideways.” A rarity, he actually didn’t write “The Holdovers” — Hemingson, who is mostly known for his sitcom writing, penned this one.