Why Gerard Depardieu Was Replaced in Major Voice Cast – Inside Story!

Released on Wednesday, November 20, “The Most Precious of Commodities” marks Michel Hazanavicius’s first venture into animated filmmaking. This film is an adaptation of Jean-Claude Grumberg’s novel of the same name, published in January 2019, a project that Hazanavicius had been developing for the screen. The production faced multiple challenges, including significant obstacles.

Initially, COVID-19 halted funding, prompting Hazanavicius to direct “Cut!” in the meantime, as he shared at the Cannes Film Festival, hours before “The Most Precious of Commodities” was presented in the Competition at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

The film revisits the Holocaust through the story of a baby thrown from a death train and found by a woodcutter couple. It features the voices of Dominique Blanc, Denis Podalydès, and the late Jean-Louis Trintignant in his final film role as the narrator, which he recorded before his death in June 2022.

Joining the cast is Grégory Gadebois, who plays the woodcutter, a role initially intended for Gérard Depardieu. However, since December 2020, Depardieu had been under investigation for “rapes and sexual assaults” following a complaint by actress Charlotte Arnould and accusations of sexual violence by 15 other women. The actor withdrew from the project in October 2023 by mutual agreement with the director, as his agent stated that he “no longer accepts any projects in the current context.”

“The film demanded that we part ways with him, and he realized it too”

“At a certain point, it’s the film that dictates,” Michel Hazanavicius told us last May when discussing the change. “Regardless of the mixed feelings one might have towards Gérard Depardieu – who remains a great actor, regardless of what anyone says – the film demanded that we part ways with him, and he realized that. And that’s what we did.”

“After that, I’m not here to defend or condemn him. We were in a situation where, no matter what, it couldn’t have gone any other way.” Coincidentally, Grégory Gadebois also voices in two feature films released on November 20, including this one and “The Choice,” where Vincent Lindon is the only actor on screen, interacting only by phone with his co-stars.