Play all audios:
EXCLUSIVE: After premiering her short _Oh Lucy! _three years ago at Cannes winning the Cinefoundation Selection, Japanese director Atsuko Hirayanagi is back on the Croisette with the
feature-length version of the off-beat romantic comedy, premiering in Critics Week this morning. _Oh Lucy! _tells the story of shy middle-aged office worker Setsuko (Shinobu Terajima). In
order to change-up her life, she enrolls in an English class at a Tokyo language center, where she meets a hunky American instructor (Josh Hartnett). However, step aside Professor Henry
Higgins, because when it comes to transforming a woman, Hartnett’s guy employs an avant garde means as seen in the clip above. Hirayanagi describes the scene, “Unbeknownst to him, John, an
American English teacher, is playing with fire in this scene. By giving Setsuko a new name and persona, Lucy, he’s opening up a floodgate of old and new emotions in this seemingly demure and
subdued ‘office lady’…”. After John disappears, Lucy nee Setsuko embarks on a journey with her sister to find him, and winds up on the wrong side of Los Angeles. WATCH ON DEADLINE
Hirayanagi, a native of Japan, now lives in San Francisco and based _Oh Lucy! _off her U.S. study abroad experiences which also yielded two different personalities within the director.
Following its premiere in Cannes, Hirayanagi’s short won the Jury Prize for International Fiction at Sundance two years ago. The feature length script for _Oh Lucy! _was the recipient of the
Sundance Institute/NHK Award, with NHK providing both funding and co-production of the film. At the end of 2016, Hirayanagi shot _Oh Lucy! _in Tokyo and Los Angeles with a different cast
from the short. In total, the short played at more than 20 festivals around the globe including Toronto and SXSW. Adam McKay and Will Ferrell, who have a knack for discovering and
catapulting fresh comedic talent, serve as EPs on _Oh Lucy! _with their Gloria Sanchez female-focused label led by Jessica Elbaum producing. If you remember, McKay and Ferrell assisted in
launching the careers of Danny McBride, Jody Hill and Ben Best by getting Paramount Vantage to acquire their $70K comedy _The_ _Foot Fist Way _before it hit Sundance 11 years ago. Shot
between Tokyo and Los Angeles at the end of 2016, _Oh Lucy! _ is also produced by Matchgirl Pictures and Han West’s Meridian Content. Elle Driver has foreign sales and United Talent Agency
is handling domestic.