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Given the genre cred of Simon Pegg and the ascendance of Rosamund Pike, I approached Hector and the Search for Happiness with a certain level of curiosity. I was unfamiliar with the original novel by French author Francois Lelord and somehow missed the film’s release back in September. 20th Century Home Entertainment resolved that with the release today of the film on DVD.

In short, the film is about a psychiatrist, Hector (Pegg), who wants to shake up his tedious life. He doesn’t feel like he’s good at his job or able to help people, and laments to his girlfriend Clara (Pike) that he has yet to sample the very experience he recommends to his clients. As a result, he goes walkabout, seeking to taste life and find happiness. Then things happen.

It’s a charming premise and certainly well-trod territory but one expects, well, more from the story,...

Now playing in limited release in North America is director Peter Chelsom’s dramedy Hector and the Search for Happiness. Based on the book of the same name by François Lelord, the film stars Simon Pegg as Hector, an eccentric psychiatrist who’s going nowhere and whose patients aren’t getting any happier. One day, he musters up the courage to set out on a quest to find out if happiness really exists. Led by a great performance by Pegg, the film's definitely worth checking out. The film also stars Rosamund Pike, Christopher Plummer, Toni Collette, Stellan Skarsgard, and Jean Reno. For more on Hector and the Search for Happiness, click here to watch the trailer, and here’s all our previous coverage. Recently I landed an exclusive video interview with Simon Pegg and Peter Chelsom. During our wide-ranging conversation, we talked about how they came to work together, how...

Opening this weekend in North America is director Peter Chelsom’s dramedy Hector and the Search for Happiness. Based on the book of the same name by François Lelord, the film stars Simon Pegg as Hector, an eccentric psychiatrist who’s going nowhere and whose patients aren’t getting any happier. One day, he musters up the courage to set out on a quest to find out if happiness really exists. The film also stars Rosamund Pike, Christopher Plummer, Toni Collette, Stellan Skarsgard, and Jean Reno. For more on Hector and the Search for Happiness, click here to watch the trailer, and here's all our previous coverage. Last week at the Toronto International Film festival I landed an exclusive interview with Rosamund Pike, who plays Hector's wife. She talked about being at Tiff, working with Pegg on The World's End and then Hector, collaborating with Peter Chelsom, if there were script changes during production,...

Just last year audiences were treated to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which saw Ben Stiller undertake a world-traversing voyage to understand the meaning of life. This time it’s Simon Pegg trying to get in touch with his happy-self in Hector and the Search for Happiness. Based on French psychiatrist François Lelord’s best-selling novel of the same name, and directed by Peter Chelsom, Simon Pegg plays our dissatisfied protagonist Hector; a quirky psychiatrist who realises his methods aren’t helping his patients, and so embarks on a trip around the world in a bid to discover the secret of happiness.

Among the destinations Hector jaunts too are Shanghai, The Himalayas and more. Chelsom does well to capture the energy of the various locales, and if nothing else the aesthetics in Hector are mostly impressive, all the more so when you consider the tight budget. As for the film’s relatable messages,...

Peter Chelsom wants you to find happiness, and he hopes it’ll be in a cinema watching his film. Hector and the Search for Happiness has been adapted from the novel by François Lelord, Simon Pegg is our titular hero and Rosamund Pike and Amanda Abbington join for the fun.

Pegg and Pike have only just recently witnessed the end of the world (in The World’s End) and now they are on a quest to find the key to happiness. Will they find it? Maybe in each other? Frankly the world could use a little happiness right now.

Tonight was the UK premiere of the film and Amon Warmann and Colin Hart were on the carpet asking the questions. Here’s how they got on.

Simon Pegg

Rosamund Pike

Amanda Abbington

Peter Chelsom

The post Premiere Interviews: Simon Pegg & Rosamund Pike on Hector and the Search for Happiness appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Director: Peter Chelsom; Screenwriters: Maria von Heland, Peter Chelsom, Tinker Lindsay; Starring: Simon Pegg, Rosamund Pike, Stellan Skarsgård, Toni Collette, Jean Reno, Christopher Plummer; Running time: 120 mins; Certificate: 15

Simon Pegg tackles the meaning of life as the eponymous wanderer and/or wonderer in an adaptation of a book by French psychiatrist François Lelord. Hector and the Search for Happiness is part fable, part self-help manual with echoes of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but like that film, there's a considerable gap between its deeply profound objective and the soft handling.

Hector is subject to gentle teasing for taking life too seriously, but he isn't a purely comic character and that's unfortunate for Pegg who usually gets laughs playing pompous idiots. He's much less compelling being moody and teary-eyed, especially because he doesn't have much to complain about. Hector is a successful psychiatrist who lives in a plush London home with a lovely girlfriend,...

A new Hector and the Search for Happiness trailer has gone online. Based on the book of the same name by François Lelord, the film stars Simon Pegg as the titular Hector, an eccentric psychiatrist who’s going nowhere and whose patients aren’t getting any happier. One day, he musters up the courage to set out on a quest to find out if happiness really exists. I had actually never seen any of this film’s trailers before today, so I went and revisited the first and second trailers as well. And I think I prefer this brand new one the most. It sells the character’s need to go on this journey a bit more. Or maybe I’m just getting old and schmaltzy. The comedic elements of the first two trailers are still present, but now I get the restlessness of the character's life. Hit the jump...

Can you believe we're less about two months away from Fall movie season? By mid-September studios and indies start to slowly roll out their more prestige releases some of which may or may not be awards season fodder. One film arriving in September that might not be on your radar yet is Peter Chelsom's "Hector and the Search for Happiness." Based on the novel by "Le voyage d'Hector ou la recherche du bonheur" by François Lelord, "Hector" is essentially the tale of a London psychiatrist (Simon Pegg) who doesn't understand why his patients can't cheer up.  In a funk himself, Hector decides to span the world in search of joy.  The film features an intriguing ensemble cast including Rosamund Pike as his patient girlfriend waiting back home (you'll also see her in "Gone Girl" in October), Toni Collette as that old flame he can't get over (thankfully she appears...

Watch the trailer for Relativity Media’s Hector And The Search For Happiness, starring Simon Pegg, Rosamund Pike, Toni Collette, Stellan Skarsgård, Jean Reno and Christopher Plummer.

Directed by Peter Chelsom (Funny Bones, Shall We Dance, Serendipity), the film opens in UK cinemas August 15 from Koch Media Films; on September 19 in New York and La by Relativity.

This spirited and life-affirming movie is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by François Lelord, the script is written by Maria von Heland, Chelsom and Tinker Lindsay.

Pegg plays Hector, an eccentric yet irresistible London psychiatrist in crisis: his patients are just not getting any happier! He’s going nowhere. Then one day, armed with buckets of courage and an almost child-like curiosity, Hector breaks out of his sheltered life into a global quest to find out if happiness exists. More importantly, if it exists for Hector. And so begins a colorful,...

In his next film, Simon Pegg boldly goes where no man has gone before: clubbing with Stellan Skarsgård. The pair team up and get loose in an early, Shanghai-set chapter of the travelogue that is Hector And The Search For Happiness. The movie has a new Pegg-filled poster that packs him off to the airport clad in backpack chic with girlfriend Clara (Rosamund Pike) in tow.Hector And The Search For Happiness is the story of a London psychiatrist and his quest to find the answer to all the big questions. What’s the key to true inner peace? Where do you find it? How does it survive your first trip to Ikea?Directed by Serendipity’s Peter Chelsom, Hector is based on a bestselling novel by Frenchman François Lelord and sees Hector bidding a temporary farewell to Clara and their cosy domesticity to see the world and find himself.

From Spaced and Shaun of the Dead to Paul and Star Trek, Simon Pegg has perfected playing rage-filled geeks, and we see a moment of such abrupt and senseless rage in the trailer above for his latest. But at its core, Hector and the Search For Happiness is a drama about the adventure one man who needs to find joy. Based on the François Lelord novel, Hector and the Search For Happiness stars Simon Pegg as the titular Hector, an unhappy psychiatrist who decides to leave behind his rut and routine, travel and--well--search for happiness. The film's director Peter Chelsom has previously compared this adaptation to Being There and Forrest Gump because of its fable nature and contemporary love story. But from the trailer above, it's reminding us a bit more of a more recent adventure story. Remember The Secret Life of Walter Mitty? Hector and the Search For ...

Later on this year, Simon Pegg and Rosamund Pike will star in two very different films. Pegg will lend his voice to the stop motion animated film The Boxtrolls, while Pike will get her first real chance at stardom opposite Ben Affleck in the highly anticipated thriller Gone Girl from director David Fincher. But before both their films debut in Us theaters, they’ll first be seen opposite each other as love interests in Relativity’s Hector and the Search for Happiness.

An adaptation of French psychiatrist François Lelord’s successful novel and directed by Peter Chelsom, the romantic comedy follows (who else?) Pegg as Hector, an eccentric London psychiatrist on a mission to find out how to make his patients happier. Pike plays his (reluctantly) supportive long-time girlfriend Clara, who is forced to wait at home while he travels the world in ...

Click to continue reading ‘Hector and the...

In Hector And The Search For Happiness Simon Pegg plays an eccentric psychiatrist whose life is going nowhere and whose patients aren't getting any happier. Cue the swooping music and he's off to meet delightfully happy foreigners in search for happiness. Why he would leave Rosamund Pike behind to do all of this is beyond me. Here's the official synopsis for the film based on François Lelord's novel of the same name: Pegg plays Hector, an...

A new Hector and the Search for Happiness trailer has gone online. Based on the book of the same name by François Lelord, the film stars Simon Pegg as the titular Hector, an eccentric psychiatrist who’s going nowhere and whose patients aren’t getting any happier. One day, he musters up the courage to set out on a quest to find out if happiness really exists. While this trailer is all well and good, I have trouble accepting the premise that someone would leave Rosamund Pike to find greater happiness. It's easier to believe that someone can transport onto a starship that's going at warp speed. Hit the jump to check out the Hector and the Search for Happiness trailer. The film opens in the U.K. on August 15th, and also stars Christopher Plummer, Toni Collette, Stellan Skarsgard, and Jean Reno. Via Simon Pegg. Here's the official synopsis...

Arriving a little earlier than expected this summer, Hector and the Search for Happiness reunites Simon Pegg with his co-star from The World’s End, Rosamund Pike.

The first trailer arrived at the start of the year, teasing some feel-good, heartfelt moments of drama and comedy alike, and with its August release on the horizon, Koch Media has launched a new trailer to whet our appetites.

Pegg plays Hector, an eccentric yet irresistible London psychiatrist in crisis: his patients are just not getting any happier! He’s going nowhere. Then one day, armed with buckets of courage and an almost child-like curiosity, Hector breaks out of his sheltered vacuum of a life into a global quest to find out if happiness exists. More importantly, if it exists for Hector. And so begins a colorful, exotic, dangerous and hysterical journey.

Pegg and Pike top an impressive ensemble cast, starring alongside Toni Collette,...

Arriving a little earlier than expected this summer, Hector and the Search for Happiness reunites Simon Pegg with his co-star from The World’s End, Rosamund Pike.

The first trailer arrived at the start of the year, teasing some feel-good, heartfelt moments of drama and comedy alike, and with its August release on the horizon, Koch Media has launched a new trailer to whet our appetites.

Pegg plays Hector, an eccentric yet irresistible London psychiatrist in crisis: his patients are just not getting any happier! He’s going nowhere. Then one day, armed with buckets of courage and an almost child-like curiosity, Hector breaks out of his sheltered vacuum of a life into a global quest to find out if happiness exists. More importantly, if it exists for Hector. And so begins a colorful, exotic, dangerous and hysterical journey.

Pegg and Pike top an impressive ensemble cast, starring alongside Toni Collette,...

Exclusive: Deals on Simon Pegg comedy include South Korea, Spain, Benelux.

UK sales outfit Bankside has closed a number of deals on Peter Chelsom’s comedy Hector and the Search for Happiness, starring Simon Pegg, Rosamund Pike, Toni Collette, Stellan Skarsgard, Jean Reno and Christopher Plummer.

Buyers include World Airlines (Entertainment in Motion), Benelux (Imagine Film Distribution), Cis/Baltic States (Exponenta), Greece (Feelgood Entertainment), Hong Kong (Cinehub/UA Films), Israel (Forum Film), Poland (Kino Swiat), Portugal (Outsider Films), South Korea (GreenNarae) and Spain (Festival Films).

Previously announced presales include UK (Koch Media), Canada, (Eone) Australia/Nz (Becker Film Group), Germany/German Speaking Europe (Wild Bunch Germany), Middle East (Eagle Films) and Turkey (Aqua Group).

Relativity announced its acquisition of Us rights earlier this week with a theatrical release scheduled for September 2014.

Maria von Heland, Peter Chelsom and Tinker Lindsay’s script, based on the bestselling novel by François Lelord, charts the journey of a psychiatrist (Pegg) who searches...

Exclusive: Relativity has closed a 7-figure deal for U.S. distribution rights to Hector And The Search For Happiness, the Peter Chelsom-directed comedy that stars Simon Pegg, Toni Collette, Rosamund Pike, Stllan Skarsgard, Jean Reno and Christopher Plummer. Relativity has dated the film for a September 26 platform opening, expanding wider on October 3. The script was written by Maria von Heland, Chelsom & Tinker Lindsay. Related: Simon Pegg On A ‘Search For Happiness’ The film is based on the bestselling novel by François Lelord, and Pegg plays a disillusioned psychiatrist searching the globe to find the secret to happiness. The film is a co-production between Egoli Tossell Film, Erfttal Film and Screen Siren Pictures film, in association with Head Gear Films and Film House Germany. It was produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada, the German Federal Film Board (Ffa), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the German Federal Film Fund (Dfff). It was...

Simon Pegg is an actor who often succeeds wildly in making us smile, in films like Shaun of the Dead and Run, Fatboy, Run. So, it is a relief to see that the actor likes to smile, too. Moving away from the dark comedy A Fantastic Fear of Everything, the British comic will be hitting UK movie screens this fall in Hector and the Search for Happiness. The first trailer for the film is up and it looks like it hits the sweet spot without being too saccharine.

The film follows Pegg’s Hector, a glum psychiatrist who is just as depressed and uninspired as the patients he speaks with every week. He finds the courage to pick himself up and travel across the world, trying to find the places and people that can turn his frown upside down. Among the ensemble he meets or rekindles a long-lost connection with are played by Jean Reno,...

Reuniting with Rosamund Pike having just starred alongside each other in The World’s End, Simon Pegg will soon be returning to the big screen in Peter Chelsom’s adaptation of the best-selling novel, Hector and the Search for Happiness.

The dramatic-comedy is set to arrive in our cinemas in the autumn, and the rather charming first trailer has debuted online.

Pegg plays Hector, an eccentric yet irresistible London psychiatrist in crisis: his patients are just not getting any happier! He’s going nowhere. Then one day, armed with buckets of courage and an almost child-like curiosity, Hector breaks out of his sheltered vacuum of a life into a global quest to find out if happiness exists. More importantly, if it exists for Hector. And so begins a colorful, exotic, dangerous and hysterical journey.

Starring alongside Pegg and Pike is a great ensemble, led by Toni Collette, Stellan Skarsgård, Christopher Plummer,...

We here at Collider are very happy to exclusively debut the first trailer for director Peter Chelsom’s upcoming drama/comedy Hector and the Search for Happiness. Based on the book of the same name by François Lelord, the film stars Simon Pegg as the titular Hector, an eccentric psychiatrist who’s going nowhere and whose patients aren’t getting any happier. One day, he musters up the courage to set out on a quest to find out if happiness really exists. The pic looks to be an excellent showcase of Pegg’s comedic sensibilities while also touching on some promising dramatic themes as well, and it’s bolstered by an incredibly solid ensemble cast. Hit the jump to watch the trailer and to check out a couple of new images. The film also stars Rosamund Pike, Christopher Plummer, Toni Collette, Stellan Skarsgard, and Jean Reno. Hector and the Search for Happiness...

To help celebrate the end of filming on director Peter Chelsom’s drama/comedy Hector and the Search for Happiness, Simon Pegg has tweeted the first official image from the film. Based on the book of the same name by François Lelord, the film stars Simon Pegg, Rosamund Pike, Christopher Plummer, Toni Collette, Stellan Skarsgård, and Jean Reno. Here's the synopsis: "Pegg plays Hector, an eccentric yet irresistible London psychiatrist in crisis: his patients are just not getting any happier! He’s going nowhere. Then one day, armed with buckets of courage and an almost child-like curiosity, Hector breaks out of his sheltered vacuum of a life into a global quest to find out if happiness exists. More importantly, if it exists for Hector. And so begins a colorful, exotic, dangerous and hysterical journey." Hit the jump to check out the first image. Hector and the Search for Happiness doesn't have a release date,...

Shortly to be reunited onscreen in The World's End, and with a host of solo TV and film projects in the works, the comic boy-man duo seem to be going from strength to strength

What a pleasure, what a sugar rush, giddy-kipper joy it is to watch Simon Pegg and Nick Frost together in a film by Edgar Wright. I went to see a preview of The World's End, the final part of the Pegg/Frost/Wright "three flavours Cornetto" trilogy, and I laughed and laughed for three-quarters of an hour. Then I stopped, as we were only allowed to see the first 45 minutes of the film, for some reason. Either the special effects people were still cranking out the CGI, or the last hour is Really Bad (not so, according to those who have now seen it).

Anyway, the part I saw zipped by, a slick, high-spirited blast of jokes and small-town action,...

If you follow esteemed (and occasionally steam-driven) thespian type Simon Pegg on Twitter, you’ll already know that Toni Collette is aboard rom-com Hector And The Search For Happiness. But Deadline’s story at least breaks the news that Jean Reno, Stellan Skarsgård, Desiree Zurowski and Jakob Davies have all joined the cast. The film, which already boasts Pegg, Rosamund Pike and Christopher Plummer, is shooting now in Canada under the direction of Peter Chelsom. Pegg plays the titular Hector, an eccentric London psychiatrist who hits a crisis when he can’t help any of his patients to get any happier and decides to go off on a search for the secret of happiness.Pike will be Hector’s girlfriend, while Plummer is aboard to play a UCLA professor who specialises in Happiness Studies. Not much is known about the other roles, though Davies is apparently playing Hector as a lad.

• Colin Firth and Michael Fassbender are set to star in the biopic Genius, about the relationship between literary editor Max Perkins (Firth) and celebrated author Thomas Wolfe (Fassbender), film sales company FilmNation Entertainment announced today. Screenwriter John Logan (Skyfall, Hugo) is adapting A. Scott Berg’s biography Max Perkins: Editor of Genius, and London theater fixture Michael Grandage will make his feature film directing debut.

• Amanda Seyfried and Patrick Dempsey will star in the romantic comedy Wonderful Tonight, about a one night stand that results in pregnancy. Christine Jeffs (Sunshine Cleaning) will direct from a script by J. Mills Goodloe...

Actor Stellan Skarsgård (The Avengers, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Mamma Mia!) has joined the cast of Peter Chelsom.s drama comedy Hector And The Search For Happiness, it was announced today by The Solution Entertainment Group.s (.The Solution.) founders and partners, Lisa Wilson and Myles Nestel, and producers Judy Tossell of Egoli Tossell Film and Christine Haebler of Screen Siren Pictures.

Skarsgård joins the previously announced Simon Pegg (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), Rosamund Pike (upcoming Jack Reacher) and Oscar winner Christopher Plummer (Beginners). Also appearing in a cameo will be cult German actress Marianne Sägebrecht (Bagdad CAFÈ).

Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by François Lelord, the script is written by Maria von Heland, Chelsom and Tinker Lindsay. The film is a German/Canadian co-production produced by Judy Tossell for Egoli Tossell Film and Christine Haebler for Screen Siren Pictures, with Jens Meurer and Trish Dolman executive producing.

Acclaimed Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård ( Marvel's The Avengers , The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ) has joined the cast of Peter Chelsom's drama comedy Hector and the Search for Happiness , it was announced today by The Solution Entertainment Group.s (.The Solution.) founders and partners, Lisa Wilson and Myles Nestel, and producers Judy Tossell of Egoli Tossell Film and Christine Haebler of Screen Siren Pictures. Skarsgård joins the previously announced Simon Pegg, Rosamund Pike and Oscar winner Christopher Plummer. Also appearing in a cameo will be cult German actress Marianne Sägebrecht. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by François Lelord, the script is written by Maria von Heland, Chelsom and Tinker Lindsay. The film is a German/Canadian co-production...

Rosamund Pike and Christopher Plummer have joined the cast of Hector and the Search for Happiness. The duo will join lead actor Simon Pegg in Peter Chelsom's adaptation of the François Lelord novel of the same name. Hector and the Search for Happiness tells the story of a London psychiatrist (Pegg) who journeys around the globe to find out if happiness exists, after his patients stop experiencing the emotion. Pike (more)...

Rosamund Pike (An Education) and Christopher Plummer (Beginners) have signed on to co-star in Hector and the Search for Happiness, THR has reported.

The pair will star alongside Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz) in the dramedy, which Solution Entertainment Group will be presenting to buyers at the 37th annaul Toronto International Film Festival this month.

Adapted by Peter Chelsom and Maria von Heland from François Lelord’s best-selling novel, Hector and the Search for Happiness centers on a psychiatrist (Pegg) who searches the globe to find the secret of happiness.

Pike will play his devoted girlfriend, while Plummer will take on the role of Professor Coreman, Happiness Studies teacher at UCLA.

Chelsom will direct, with production due to commence in January next year.

Pike will next be seen in Jack Reacher, opposite Tom Cruise and Robert Duvall, while Plummer is currently filming the Stephen Frears-directed Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight.

Oscar winner Christopher Plummer and former Bond girl Rosamund Pike have joined the cast of Peter Chelsom’s upcoming drama comedy "Hector and the Search For Happiness" at Egoli Tossell Film and Screen Siren Pictures.

Based on François Lelord's novel, Simon Pegg plays an eccentric yet irresistible London psychiatrist in crisis: he’s going nowhere and his patients are just not getting any happier.

One day Hector breaks out of his sheltered vacuum of a life into a global quest to find out if happiness exists for not just everyone else, but himself. The quest takes him on an exotic, dangerous and hysterical journey.

Pike has been cast as Hector’s long-term girlfriend. Plummer plays UCLA's Happiness Studies guru Professor Coreman.

Judy Tossell and Christine Haebler will produce and shooting kicks off in January.

• Bruce Willis is in talks to star in American Assassin, playing a CIA spook who mentors a young recruit whose girlfriend died in a terrorist attack. Jeffrey Nachmanoff (Traitor) will direct the thriller from a script by Mike Finch. [Variety]

• Chris Evans will try to woo Michelle Monaghan in the oddball romantic comedy A Many Splintered Thing. The meet-cute premise: Evans (who is also exec producing) masquerades as a well-heeled benefactor at a charity event, and falls for Monaghan, already engaged to another man. Commercial director Justin Reardon will helm the film from a Black List script by Christ Shafer and Paul Vicknair.

Rosamund Pike and Christopher Plummer have been added to the cast of director Peter Chelsom’s drama/comedy Hector and the Search for Happiness. Based on the book of the same name by François Lelord, the film stars Simon Pegg as the titular Hector, an eccentric psychiatrist who’s going nowhere and whose patients aren’t getting any happier. One day, he musters up the courage to set out on a quest to find out if happiness really exists. It was announced today that Pike will play Hector’s long-time girlfriend, while Plummer is set as Professor Coreman, the leading guru for Happiness Studies at UCLA. Pegg and Pike are actually set to first team up in Edgar Wright’s comedy The World’s End, which reunites the Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz team of Wright, Pegg, and Nick Frost. Production on Hector and the Search for Happiness will begin in January,...

Rosamund Pike (An Education, Johnny English Reborn, Clash Of The Titans) and Academy Award Winner Christopher Plummer (Beginners, The Last Station, The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus) have joined the cast of director Peter Chelsom.s upcoming drama comedy Hector And The Search For Happiness in which Simon Pegg (Mission: Impossible -Ghost Protocol, Paul) will play the lead. The announcement was made by producers Judy Tossell of Egoli Tossell Film (The Last Station, Carlos, Black Death) and Christine Haebler of Screen Siren Pictures (Hard Core Logo, Daydream Nation, Foreverland). The Solution Entertainment Group (.The Solution.) is handling international rights to the film and will be selling to buyers in Toronto; United Talent Agency are representing Us rights.

Adapted for the screen from the bestselling novel of the same name by François Lelord, the film is a German/Canadian co-production produced by Egoli Tossell Film and Screen Siren Pictures currently in pre-production...

While they technically haven’t even shot a frame of Edgar Wright‘s The World’s End yet, Rosamund Pike and Simon Pegg must get along quite well. Reports out of Toronto indicate the duo is already ready to come back together for Peter Chelsom‘s dramedy Hector and the Search For Happiness.

Pegg was added to the film earlier this summer at Cannes and now thanks to a press release, we’ve not only got news of Pike joining, but also Christopher Plummer, who won his first Oscar this year for Beginners. Based on the novel by François Lelord and adapted by Chelsom (Shall We Dance?, Serendipity) and his frequent collaborator, Tinker Lindsay, check out a synopsis below.

Simon Pegg plays Hector, an eccentric yet irresistible London psychiatrist in crisis: he’s going nowhere and his patients are just not getting any happier! Until one day, armed with buckets of courage and child-like curiosity,...

Rosamund Pike ( An Education , Wrath of the Titans ) and Academy Award Winner Christopher Plummer ( Beginners , The Last Station ) have joined the cast of director Peter Chelsom.s upcoming drama comedy Hector and the Search For Happiness . Simon Pegg ( Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol , Paul ) will, as previously announced play the lead. The announcement arrives from producers Judy Tossell of Egoli Tossell Film ( The Last Station , Carlos ) and Christine Haebler of Screen Siren Pictures ( Hard Core Logo , Daydream Nation ). Adapted for the screen from the bestselling novel of the same name by François Lelord, the film is a German/Canadian co-production produced by Egoli Tossell Film and Screen Siren Pictures currently in pre-production and set to shoot in January...

Hector and the Search for Happiness

Simon Pegg will lead Peter Chelsom's adaptation of François Lelord's novel "Hector and the Search for Happiness". The schedule aims for Pegg to shoot the film once he wraps Edgar Wright's "The World's End".

Chelsom and Tinker Lindsay penned the script which follows the story of an eccentric yet irresistible London psychiatrist in crisis -- largely because his patients are just not getting any happier -- who decides to go on his own quest to find a smile. [Source: THR]

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

Colin Firth has signed on to star as actor, director, playwright and singer Noel Coward in a new comedy drama "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" at BiteSize Entertainment.

The story follows Noel's two weeks at The Desert Inn in Las Vegas in 1955, when he performed for huge crowds. [Source: The AP]

Lullaby

Jennifer Hudson, Amy Adams and Garrett Hedlund have joined the cast...

Remember the feeling you used to get as a child on Christmas morning? Well, that's the feeling movie fans and movie stars alike get during the Cannes Film Festival, as one new project after another is unveiled like the world's most amazing array of stocking stuffers.

And according to The Hollywood Reporter, among those opening cinematic presents this weekend were Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Saoirse Ronan, Amy Adams, Garrett Hedlund, Jennifer Hudson, Simon Pegg, Susan Sarandon and Ben Kingsley.

This year, Christmas is in May.

Here's a quick rundown of all the big names and big deals:

Sandra Bullock will be teaming up with Melissa McCarthy to form a comedy dream team in an upcoming film by McCarthy's "Bridesmaids" director Paul Feig. The film will reportedly be a buddy film about "an uptight FBI agent and an unconventional Boston cop." In other words, when Miss Congeniality met Melissa McCarthy. Garrett Hedlund,...

We’re next going to see mega-talent multi-hyphenate funnyman Simon Pegg have “a fantastic fear of everything” in, uh, a film called A Fantastic Fear of Everything, but he’ll soon go on a “search for happiness” in a film called, you guessed it, Hector and The Search for Happiness (ha, fooled you!). Of course, Pegg also has both the Star Trek sequel and The World’s End lined up before that (and, oh, thank heaven for that), but this is a news piece about Search for Happiness, so here we go. News from Cannes (told you to get used to it) announces that Pegg will star in Peter Chelsom‘s (Serendipity, Shall We Dance, and yow! Hannah Montana: The Movie) film, billed as a “drama comedy” (perhaps a “dramedy”?) about a wacky London psychiatrist. Chelsom has adapted the film’s script with Tinker Lindsay from the bestselling novel by François Lelord. The...

Simon Pegg‘s a busy man. After his work in gradually larger films like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Star Trek, and the Mission: Impossible series, the Brit has become a plain old recognizable face in the industry today. A press release informs us that he’s taking on a new role, that of a psychiatrist on a quest, in Peter Chelsom‘s new dramedy, Hector and the Search for Happiness.

The news broke at Cannes today, telling us that Pegg will be playing the titular character, “an eccentric yet irresistible London psychiatrist” who finds himself in a panic when his patients improve too quickly and noticably.

Check out the full synopsis below (via ComingSoon):

“He’s going nowhere. Then one day, armed with buckets of courage and an almost child-like curiosity, Hector breaks out of his sheltered vacuum of a life into a global quest to find out if happiness exists.

British comedic actor Simon Pegg (Mission: Impossible -Ghost Protocol, Paul) has been cast in the lead role in director Peter Chelsom.s (Shall We Dance?, Funny Bones,) next movie – drama comedy Hector And The Search For Happiness, it was announced today by Lisa Wilson and Myles Nestel, founders and co-partners of The Solution Entertainment Group (.The Solution.) who are handling worldwide rights to the film.

Adapted for the screen by Chelsom and Tinker Lindsay from the bestselling novel of the same name by François Lelord, the film is a German/Canadian co-production produced by Egoli Tossell Film and Screen Siren Pictures currently in pre-production and set to shoot straight after Pegg.s The World.S End.

Pegg plays Hector, an eccentric yet irresistible London psychiatrist in crisis: his patients are just not getting any happier! He.s going nowhere. Then one day, armed with buckets of courage and an almost child-like curiosity,...

More casting is being announced out of the Cannes Film Festival today as sales and financing company The Solution Entertainment Group has announced that British comic actor Simon Pegg has been cast in the lead role of Peter Chelsom's dramatic comedy Hector and the Search for Happiness . Based on the bestselling novel by François Lelord and adapted by Chelsom with Tinker Lindsay, Pegg will play Hector, "an eccentric yet irresistible London psychiatrist in crisis" because his patients are getting happier. The official plot synopsis from the press release goes on to say, "He.s going nowhere. Then one day, armed with buckets of courage and an almost child-like curiosity, Hector breaks out of his sheltered vacuum of a life into a global quest to find out if happiness...