| Paying for It | |
| Director: | Sook-Yin Lee |
| Producer: | Matt Code Sonya Di Rienzo Aeschylus Poulos |
| Based On: | Paying for It by Chester Brown |
| Starring: | Dan Beirne Emily Lê Andrea Werhun |
| Music: | Sook-Yin Lee Dylan Gamble |
| Cinematography: | Gayle Ye |
| Editing: | Anna Catley |
| Studio: | Wildling Pictures Hawkeye Pictures |
| Country: | Canada |
| Language: | English |
Paying for It is a Canadian drama film, directed by Sook-Yin Lee and slated for release in 2024.[1] It is an adaptation of Chester Brown's graphic novel Paying for It, about his decision to start frequenting prostitutes after the breakup of his real-life relationship with Lee.
The film stars Dan Beirne as Brown and Emily Lê as Sonny, as well as Andrea Werhun, Kaitlyn Chalmers-Rizzato, Stephen Kalyn, Chris Sandiford, Kris Siddiqi, Scott Thompson, Sera-Lys McArthur and Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll in supporting roles.
Production on the film was first announced in 2022.[2] In contrast to the original graphic novel, which used artistic techniques to obscure the faces of the prostitutes due to Brown's concern for the women's privacy rights but faced some criticism for seemingly dehumanizing them, Lee's film adaptation, through a "female gaze", more strongly centres the women's own perspectives.[3]
The film is slated to premiere in the Platform Prize program at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.[4] In conjunction with the film premiere, Drawn & Quarterly is also reissuing a new "film edition" of the graphic novel, with a foreword by Lee and special bonus material about the film production.[3]