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Christine Vachon, the prolific independent producer whose Killer Films has backed Happiness, Boys Don’t Cry, Carol and more recently Past Lives, May December and Materialists, said at the Edinburgh Film Festival on Friday that Pedro Pascal is “a revelation” in Todd Haynes’ re-worked gay romance movie.

De Noche, currently in post-production with no release date announced yet, was set to star Joaquin Phoenix before he abruptly pulled out before the shoot began. Vachon previously called the situation “a tragedy” and explained in an industry talk at Edinburgh how she and her long-time collaborator Haynes managed to rebuild the project after Phoenix’s exit.

Host Wendy Mitchell joked: “I actually like [Pascal] better than Joaquin Phoenix anyway,” to which Vachon responded: “I kind of do too!” The tightly-packed crowd at Edinburgh’s Central Hall laughed with them.

Vachon continued: “It wasn’t an easy situation. And as I also stated, it was devastating that Todd didn’t get to make a movie again that year. If you take the […] glass half-full version, and ‘everything happens for a reason’ [perspective], maybe the reason was that this was a role that Pedro was born to play. He is certainly extraordinary in the film, and by the way, so is Danny [Ramirez]. I mean, both of them are a revelation.”

Getting a “do-over” allowed them to find a better shoot location, said Vachon, which showed her everything worked out for the best. Pascal was brought on board via her work with him on Celine Song’s Materialists. “People always say to me, ‘Is he as nice as he seems?’ […] He is. People are so invested. They love him.”

As a titan of independent film production, Vachon — in Edinburgh with her latest film Pretty Babies, directed by Tyler-Marie Evans, who spoke to THR in depth about winning over Vachon just this week — was also probed on the box office success of Obsession and Backrooms this year, two movies that have challenged the status quo in Hollywood. “I do,” she said when asked if she likes the energy coming out of YouTube. “But when we were making movies like Poison [and] Go Fish, we also identified an audience… Back in those days, the LGBTQ audience could go to bars. There were parts of town [where you] could take your leaflets and just go specific places where people gathered and say, ‘Look! We made this! It’s for you.’ That’s just moved online.”

Vachon is extremely buoyed by the current theater-going demographic being made up, predominantly, of people aged under 30. She cannot deny, however, that “we’re at a time of great disruption,” and the queer film landscape is a little rocky with so much division in the U.S. at the moment. “It’s a conundrum right now. We have something like Heated Rivalry which couldn’t be a bigger hit, and we still have politicians campaigning on who gets to use what bathroom. And it’s happening [in the U.K.] too. It’s not like we have the monopoly on [marginalizing] LGBTQ people.”

“I remember when I would go see screenings of Poison or Swoon, which were boy queer [films] and [the theater] would be filled with lesbians because they were like, ‘I guess I’ll go see this.’ But now there is more choice,” she continued. “And the power of narrative to actually change people’s perspectives is stronger than it’s ever been.”

On the toss-up of a box office hit or flop, Vachon confessed she can’t predict the commercial outcome of her movies. She’s actually pleased streaming services can get movies to wider audiences nowadays. “When Todd Haynes’ Safe came out, it didn’t do anything at the box office. People weren’t interested in seeing it. The reviews were a little head-scratchy, like, ‘Not quite sure what he was going for here.’ But in the mid-late ’90s, I can’t remember exactly when, a newspaper [called] the Village Voice, which was incredibly influential at the time, did a survey of every single movie critic in America. What was the best movie in the ’90s? Safe was number one.”

“Sometimes the answer is that people just didn’t want to see it. They just didn’t, and you can’t really put your finger on why it didn’t hit the zeitgeist in that way. Who knows why? It was either too late or too soon. And now, the good thing in my mind [is] we have access to things and [movies] can find their way later. People can discover movies [from] another time.”

Mitchell asked Vachon at the end of the session: “Do you use AI?”

Vachon replied: “Yes,” explaining that she often uses it for synopses — to spare a busy intern from doing the job — or getting restaurant recommendations, such as when she was at the “very expensive” Venice Film Festival with last year’s Late Fame and needed a cheap, nearby spot.

The 2026 Edinburgh International Film Festival runs Aug. 13-19.

Two directors revealed on social media that they declined opportunities to direct episodes of HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV series over author J.K. Rowling‘s trans views.

First, writer-director Ally Pankiw (Black Mirror, Ponies) took to Instagram to post a screenshot of an apparent text-message exchange with her agent where she was asked if she would be interested in the high-profile fantasy series.

“I have an instinct on the answer but I feel compelled to ask,” the unnamed agent wrote. “Harry Potter? Hard no?”

Pankiw shot back: “Absolutely fucking not! lol… (But thank you for asking).”

To which the agent replied, “Of course 🙂 … I assumed as much… (And agree).”

Pankiw added in the comments: “It simply is this easy to say ‘no’ to funding transphobia.”

The post inspired director Kate Herron (Loki, Doctor Who) to write in the comments, “They’ve asked me twice and I’ve had to explain my answer is never going to change from a ‘no.’”

Pankiw added in her Story, “Also want to shout out the amazing @herronthatkate who also said ‘no’ … twice! And that’s actually hard!”

The disclosures mark a rare instance of prominent behind-the-scenes creatives revealing they turned down a major upcoming studio production to protest a person involved in the project. An HBO representative for the show had no immediate comment.

Franchise creator and executive producer Rowling’s views on transgender issues have been an issue for HBO and the show’s talent since the series was announced. While Rowling has long denied that she is transphobic, she regularly posts anti-trans rhetoric and has celebrated legal and political developments opposed by trans-rights advocates.

Several actors on the show have spoken out against Rowling. Bel Powley, who plays Potter’s aunt Petunia Dursley in the highly anticipated series, told The Telegraph in an interview published on Monday, “I strongly disagree with J.K. Rowling’s views on gender. I think that the trans community deserve safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance.”

Powley then added, “But I love Harry Potter. I grew up with the books. I am from that first generation of readers and, again, I love magic and spookiness.”

Nick Frost, who plays the Hogwarts gamekeeper Hagrid, said last year, “She’s allowed her opinion and I’m allowed mine, they just don’t align in any way, shape or form.”

John Lithgow, who plays headmaster Albus Dumbledore, has given somewhat conflicting statements on the topic. In April of 2025, he told The Times UK, “Why is this a factor at all?” and, when asked if her stance on trans rights gave him any pause about accepting the role, replied, “Oh, heavens no.” After receiving backlash for those comments, he called Rowling’s stance “ironic and inexplicable” in February at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. But then Lithgow made headlines again in April saying Rowling’s views had been “twisted and misrepresented.”

Paapa Essiedu, who plays Severus Snape in the series, signed an open letter supporting trans rights in the U.K. last year. Responding to an article speculating that she would “fire” the actor from the show, Rowling posted, “I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did. I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine.”

When asked about Rowling last year, HBO chief Casey Bloys told The Town podcast, “The decision to be in business with J.K. Rowling is not new for us. We’ve been in business for 25 years” — referring to Warner Bros.’ long relationship with Rowling through the film franchise. “It’s pretty clear that those are her personal, political views. She’s entitled to them. Harry Potter is not secretly being infused with anything. And if you want to debate her, you can go on Twitter.”

The first season of the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, premieres Dec. 25 on HBO.