"Penny Dreadful" actor Josh Hartnett and "Caterpillar" actress Shinobu Terajima are joining the cast of the U.S.-Japan drama-comedy "Oh Lucy!" Japanese director Atsuko Hirayanagi directs again the film from her own script.
According to Variety, Terajima plays a lonely, chain-smoking office lady Setsuko Kawashima in Tokyo who is past her prime in "Oh Lucy!." Hartnett plays as her English instructor John. "Kabukicho Love Hotel" actor Kaho Minami (Ayako) and "Shall We Dance" actor Koji Yakusho (Komori) also starred in the cast.
In the plot of "Oh Lucy!," Terajima's character Setsuko discovers a new identity in her American alter ego named Lucy after deciding to take an English class with John but falls for him eventually. When John suddenly disappears, she earnestly begins a journey to find him, eventually leading her to the outskirts of Southern California.
The feature length film "Oh Lucy!" is based on the short film of the same name that Hirayanagi also directed. The said short film won the Jury Prize for International Fiction at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Its script is also the recipient of the Sundance Institute/NHK Award, with NHK providing both financing and co-production support for the upcoming film.
Han West, Yukie Kito, Jessica Elbaum, and Hirayangi are producing "Oh Lucy!." The executive producers are Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, Meileen Choo, and Razmig Hovaghimian.
UTA is representing North American rights for "Oh Lucy!" alongside Phantom Film distributing in Japan with NHK covering television rights for Japan. Matchgirl Pictures, Ferrell-McKay's Gloria Sanchez Productions, and Meridian Content are the production companies.
UTA represented both Hirayanagi and Hartnett. Hartnett starred as Eversmann in 2001's "Black Hawk Down" and as a troubled sharpshooter turned monster-hunter Ethan Chandler with Eva Green's character Vanessa Ives in the TV series "Penny Dreadful," The Independent reported. On the other hand, Terajima won a Berlin Silver Bear for Best Actress for "Caterpillar."
"Oh Lucy!" is already in post-production and concluded shooting in the middle of December 2016. The production filmed in Tokyo and Los Angeles.
Watch the video about the best of Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) in "Penny Dreadful":