Movies
Jason Bateman Directing Contained Thriller ‘Shut In’
Actor Jason Bateman is also a phenomenal director (he won an Emmy for “Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series” with Netflix’s “Ozark”) and is next getting behind the camera for Shut In, the spec script by first time scribe Melanie Toast that New Line acquired in September, Deadline reports.
The spec is an edgy thriller in the vein of Panic Room, in which a single mother is held captive by her violent ex, with her two young children left at risk. She must do everything to protect them and survive.
Interestingly, Bateman won’t star in the movie.
Deadline explains that Bateman had been developing to direct a film based on the Hasbro board game Clue, teaming with Ryan Reynolds at Fox/Disney, and while that project is still alive, it would have been too much for Bateman to get it done and get back to his Netflix series. Then he found Shut In, a contained thriller he fell for quickly, and one that is a better fit for his schedule. They’re negotiating, but sources tell the site that the film is on course for a production start in the first quarter of 2020.
Aggregate and its principals, Bateman and Michael Costigan, will board as producers, alongside Farah Films’ Dan Farah, Vertigo’s Roy Lee and Cinestate’s Dallas Sonnier.
Exec producing are Cinestate’s Amanda Presmyk and Danielle Cox, Farah Films’ Andrew Farah and Vertigo’s Miri Yoon. Richard Brener, Daria Cercek and Josh Mack will oversee for New Line.
Sasquatch Sunset duo Zellner Brothers are swapping cryptids for aliens in alien invasion comedy Alpha Gang, and the first image introduces its alien invaders.
Alpha Gang will make its premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, announced as part of this year’s Special Presentations program.
The comedy follows “a group of alien invaders sent to conquer Earth. Disguised in human form as a 1950s leather-clad biker gang, they are ruthless in their mission… until they succumb to the most toxic and contagious human condition of all: emotion.”
Cate Blanchett (Tár, The Gift), Léa Seydoux (Crimes of the Future), Dave Bautista (Knock at the Cabin), Riley Keough (The Lodge), Lily-Rose Depp (Nosferatu), and Chris Pine (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) star.
Blanchett leads the cast; the two-time Oscar winner plays the Alpha Gang’s indomitable leader. Seydoux, Bautista, Depp, and Keough will play the gang members.
The alien invasion comedy is said to take place in a heightened reality, lensed by cinematographer Mike Gioulakis (Sasquatch Sunset, Us, It Follows). Based on the plot description and the Zellner Brothers’ flatulence-heavy Sasquatch Sunset, which starred an unrecognizable Riley Keough, it feels safe to expect an offbeat comedy ahead.
The Zellners produce for ZBi, along with Blanchett and Coco Francini for Dirty Films, Keough and Gina Gammell for Felix Culpa, Ryan Zacarias for Fat City, Andrea Bucko for Sugar Rush Pictures, Mary Aloe for Aloe Entertainment, and Joshua Harris for Peachtree Media Partners.
“Each year, we strive to curate a selection of films that feels most relevant to the moment with the power to spark a rich dialogue with our public audience, and these Special Presentations titles are true reflections of that,” said Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF. “From debut directors to the most anticipated sophomore films of the year to vanguard voices, this group of films showcase the authenticity, the unexpected, and the ambition of cinema now. They are sure to be among the Festival’s most talked-about titles, captivating audiences and generating buzz long after the credits roll. We’re delighted to share these original works with TIFF audiences in September.”
TIFF launches its 51st edition this September 10-20.
Stay tuned for more as it arrives.