As co-chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group and, before that, president and co-chairman of Summit, French-born producer Patrick Wachsberger oversaw some of the most successful film franchises in recent history, from the Twilight saga to The Hunger Games. But when he left Lionsgate to form Picture Perfect Federation, the prolific producer knew exactly how he wanted to launch his endeavor: with the English-speaking remake of a little-known 2014 French comedy, La Famille Bélier.

Although CODA — the heartwarming story of Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones), a child of deaf parents who struggles between pursuing her love of music and staying in a small fishing town to help her family manage their business — won both the audience and the jury prize when it debuted in the 2021 Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Dramatic Competition, the film entered this year’s Oscar race as the underdog indie. But its recent collection of trophies (a SAG Award for best ensemble and an Independent Spirit Award for supporting actor Troy Kotsur among them) has shaken up the competition, making Sian Heder’s drama the one to beat. THR spoke to Wachsberger about CODA‘s journey from Mayenne to Massachusetts.

Where does the story of CODA start for you?

I try to watch movies other than the Hollywood movies. The world is my garden, so to speak. I saw the French movie in its very early days, and I really, really liked it. I knew the French producer, Philippe Rousselet, from my previous life at Summit. I wanted to start developing a U.S. remake, and they were pretty tough on the [French] side and said, “We understand what you want to do, but, first of all, we’re looking for a home for the French movie.” To enable me to get the remake rights, I had to acquire the French movie for the [U.S.] market and, frankly, none of my colleagues wanted to release it. But I started looking for writers to develop La Famille Bélier. One of the finalists was Sian Heder. When she came with her pitch and the approach she had to the material, she was amazing. There was no contest. It was obvious that Sian was the way to go. I started developing the screenplay when I was at Lionsgate, knowing that when I left, this movie would probably never happen [there]. I really wanted to take it with me and make it my first film in my new life. I had an amazing screenplay that Sian had written, but the rights for La Famille Bélier went back to Philippe. Philippe and I decided, “You know what? Let’s do this movie together,” and the rest is history.

For you, a producer who has been involved with a number of blockbusters, what was the appeal of this film? Did you see dollar signs?

No. Frankly, it’s great to feed the beast, it’s great to have the opportunity to make 12 movies a year, between production and acquisition, but I wanted to do something different. I really wanted to only make a movie I care for and not feed the beast, so to speak.

What touched you about Sian’s version of the film?

The authenticity. Those characters are real. In the French movie — which I really do love — hearing actors were playing deaf people, which was a nonstarter for us for the U.S. version. [The French original] was fun, emotional, and the songs were great, but it did not feel real. I think Sian’s sensibility in terms of the writing, the direction, of choice of cast, made it authentic, real, touching and funny. The other writers [wrote screenplays that] were by the numbers, just a kind of U.S. translation. No one else came with the idea of a Gloucester, Massachusetts, fishing town.

In an interview, Sian talked about the difficulty of convincing financiers to employ deaf actors. What were the early struggles?

When I left Lionsgate, it took a while for me to get the project out. Sian, I understand, had to deal with my colleagues at Lionsgate before we got the project. I believe that’s where the struggles started for her. In other words, there was never an issue for me and Philippe. The moment we got the project, we decided, yes, we want to do the movie with deaf actors. Yes, we want to shoot the movie in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Sian wanted to shoot the movie in Gloucester because she’s been there all of her youth and she knew the place. We talked about different options that financially would have been better than Gloucester but said, “OK, let’s do it there.” There was really no struggle between Sian’s vision and Philippe’s and my vision to go forward with the movie.

What was the importance of having deaf actors play the deaf roles?

It was key. There was no other way to do it in today’s world. Had you asked me 10 years ago, there would’ve been a different approach, maybe. But when we decided to do the movie, there was no consideration of not having hearing-impaired actors [in the lead roles].

How early did Marlee Matlin get involved, and how did she affect the project?

She was probably the key. Marlee really loved the screenplay and committed to the project. There’s no question that Marlee probably wouldn’t have done the movie if we had hired speaking actors to play the other roles.

How did you find Troy Kotsur and Daniel Durant?

Sian had a very strong opinion of who to cast in the movie. And we had a fantastic casting director with Deborah Aquila. This is a process that I have done with every single movie, going back to the days of Twilight — discovering new talent and testing and testing and testing. It’s about finding the actors and doing screen tests and screen tests.

What are the challenges of making a film like this? Obviously funding is one. But also, perhaps, having a set where you’re dealing with new production challenges?

Actually, it was not that hard. We shot the movie before COVID. Postproduction had a few challenges because we had to do some of the post in Canada. COVID came, Sian could not fly to Canada. There was a little bit of a challenge, but nothing major. On the budget issue, we had a list of songs that Sian wanted to use. And we had to make another choice because we didn’t have the resources financially.

What are you most proud of?

I’m very proud of the movie overall. This movie is honest. It’s not manipulative. Every time I watch this movie, I laugh again. I cry. I really am proud of a movie I can watch again and again and still feel emotion.

Interview edited for length and clarity.

This story first appeared in a March stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.