Steven Prusakowski
Back at the start of the year, Michel Hazanavicius was set to debut his remake of One Cut of the Dead, titled Final Cut, at the Sundance Film Festival. When the fest went virtual, the director opted to pull the movie. Now, it’s set to play at the Cannes Film Festival, which seems like a solid rebound for the title. However, while international audiences (including the United States) have the tittle Final Cut, it was going to play at Cannes as Z, which had rankled folk due to its ties to Russia and the Ukrainian invasion. Now, it seems like a solution has been found.
According to Deadline and other outlets, Hazanavicius, with Cannes’ blessing and support, has changed the title from its initial full title of Z (Comme Z), to Coupez! (Cut!). The issue had been the use of pro Russian forces using the symbol for its invasion. Hazanavicius apparently was mortified by that and made the move. Now, when it debuts at the fest, the focus can just be on the zombie comedy.
Source: Deadline
Why he would even want to cause confusion between the titles of this film and one of the greatest political thrillers ever made is baffling to me.
Like, sorry dude, there are 25 other letters in the alphabet. Z belongs to Costa-Gavras and that’s all there is to it.
There’s that, too. Final Cut is bland enough that it works, especially if you’re not just going to stick with One Cut of the Dead.