He’s now teaming up with Parker Finn –– the writer/director behind ‘Smile’, the biggest horror hit of 2022 –– to develop a new take on Andrzej Żuławski’s cult 1981 horror movie ‘Possession’.
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What’s the story of ‘Possession’?
1981’s ‘Possession’. Photo: Gaumont.
Written by Żuławski and Frederic Tuten, ‘Possession’ is set in West Berlin and stars Sam Neill as a spy who returns home from the field to his wife (Isabella Adjani) and son.
All is not quiet on the marital front as the wife asks for a divorce and the couple next descends into a destructive cycle that not only includes infidelity and neglect but spins into murder, a tentacled alien creature and doppelgangers.
The movie was Żuławski’s meditation on marriage, written as a reaction to his own crumbling relationship. An international co-production between France and Germany, ‘Possession’ not a hit nor particularly well-received when it was released, but it gained a cult status for the filmmaker’s full commitment to the premise and went through a re-appraisal.
Who will produce the new ‘Possession’?
Caitlin Stasey in Paramount Pictures Presents in Association with Paramount Players A Temple Hill Production ‘Smile.’
Right now, the project is at a very early stage. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Finn and Pattinson have been sending the pitch out to various companies and the likes of A24, Netflix, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros. are all interested. Meetings are scheduled for this week, and more companies are expected to enter the fray.
Reactions to whatever concept Finn and Pattinson have cooked up have been strong, though there are apparently discussions ongoing about how to market the movie. If we’re honest, A24 feels like it might be the best fit for this one, even though Finn’s first-look deal with Paramount may give that studio an edge.
Finn broke out big with ‘Smile’, which starred Sosie Bacon in the story of a psychiatrist who becomes convinced she’s the target of an unnatural entity that causes its victims to display a rictus grin.
The director has already shot sequel ‘Smile 2’, which is in post-production and will be in theaters on October 18th.
While Pattinson hasn’t yet decided if he’ll star in the new movie –– you’ve got to figure that would be a big selling point for any studio –– he’s also got a relatively open schedule right now.
He’s scheduled to work on the sequel to ‘The Batman’ next year, but his next film to be released in Boon Jong Ho’s sci-fi comedy drama ‘Mickey 17’, which will be in theaters on January 31st, 2025.
Robert Pattinson in ‘Superpowered: The DC Story.’ Photograph by Courtesy of Max/Warner Bros.
Laurence Fishburne as Bowery King in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
Preview:
Laurence Fishburne is the latest recruit for ‘The Witcher’.
Liam Neeson has taken over starring in the show.
The fantasy series will see the characters reeling after world-altering events.
Fans of ‘The Witcher’ were thrown for a loop in 2022 when Henry Cavill announced he was hanging up his sword after three seasons of playing gruff, monster-fighting main character Geralt of Rivia.
And though it was revealed that Liam Hemsworth would be taking over from Cavill as Geralt, there was a huge concern about the show’s future. But it is at least adding a genre veteran in Laurence Fishburne, who is taking a key role.
Fishburne, of course, is known for his varied career, including movies such as ‘The Matrix’, ‘Apocalypse Now’, the ‘John Wick’ franchise and ‘Man of Steel’ (which coincidentally starred Cavill as Superman).
Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s ‘The Witcher.’ Photo: Jay Maidment.
Adapted from Andrzej Sapkowski’s book series by show creator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, ‘The Witcher’ is set in a world where humans and others battle monsters.
After the shocking, Continent-altering events that close out Season 3, the new season follows Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri, who are faced with traversing the war-ravaged Continent and its many demons apart from each other. If they can embrace and lead the groups of misfits they find themselves in, they have a chance of surviving the baptism of fire — and finding one another again.
Who stars in ‘The Witcher’ Season 4?
Liam Hemsworth as Kinney in the action film, ‘Land of Bad,’ a release by The Avenue. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.
Though Hemsworth and Fishburne are new to the series, stars Anya Chalotra (Yennefer), Freya Allan (Ciri) and Joey Batey (Jaskier) are returning to their roles. Netflix has yet to announce who else will be back and any other new casting.
Who is Laurence Fishburne playing in the new ‘Witcher’ season?
Laurence Fishburne as 20/20 Mike in ‘Once in the Life.’ Photo: Trimark Home Video.
Fishburne is joining the ensemble to play Regis, a fan favorite from the ‘Witcher’ books and games. The character of Regis, introduced in the novel ‘Baptism of Fire’, is a world-wise Barber-surgeon with a mysterious past who joins Geralt on his journey.
Here’s what Fishburne said about the new gig:
“I’m very excited to be joining the cast and look forward to exploring the wondrous world of The Witcher.”
When will ‘The Witcher’ return to TV screens?
With production set to start on the new season in the Spring, it seems unlikely that the show will be back this year, given the hefty effects workload to create the various creatures that populate the ‘Witcher’ world.
Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in ‘The Matrix.’ Photo: Warner Bros.
Since the November 2019 release of the music video “Heartless,” The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye a noted cinephile who has cited David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese as inspirations in the past, has crafted a deep cinematic narrative throughout the video elements of his fourth album After Hours. Along with the lyrical and visual narratives of the album itself, which tracks a man dubbed The Weeknd through a bad break-up, a hard look at his hedonistic lifestyle, and in the end some wistful wisdom as he starts to maybe group up a bit, the videos and live appearances to promote the album are also chock full of cinematic references. Take the title itself: After Hours evokes late night clubs, but from a cinematic point of view it immediately brings up visions of Martin Scorsese’s 1985 cult classic of the same name about a word processor named Paul who takes a late night trip to SoHo in New York City and can’t seem to ever get himself back home.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘After Hours’ (right)
Much like Paul, the videos find a man dubbed The Character (played of course by The Weeknd) in an endless journey through the darker parts of himself – and through a myriad of film references.
The Weeknd debuted his now signature red suit in the video for “Heartless,” directed by Anton Tammi, which itself is a reference to a suit worn by Robert De Niro in Scorsese’s 1995 film ‘Casino’. The video, shot in Las Vegas, features The Character and a friend (played by Metro Boomin) as they gallivant around Sin City, stumbling in a drug-induced haze like Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro in Terry Gilliam’s 1998 adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He even worked this stumble into his performance at the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Blade Runner’ (right)
The video for his next single “Blinding Lights,” also directed by Tammi, there are even more film references. We see The Character steal a car and head back to Los Angeles, where, among other things, he dances in the 2nd Street Tunnel. This landmark of Los Angeles has been featured in countless films, including Ridley Scott’s 1982 film ‘Blade Runner.’ An adaptation of the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (side note: the author is also referenced in the lyrics of “Snow Child,” with the line “give her Phillip K Dick”), the film is set in Los Angeles in November 2019 – the same month the video was released – and references to it will show up in a later video.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘The Dark Knight’ (right)
Much has been made of The Weeknd’s dancing throughout the promotion of After Hours being reminiscent of Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Joker,’ but in fact these videos are peppered with references to many cinematic Jokers, including the moment in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight,’ where Heath Ledger gleefully hangs his head outside a stolen police car he’s driving.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Blue Velvet’ (right)
Much of the vibe throughout the music videos and live performances for After Hours have a Lynchian feel to them and in “Blinding Lights,” there is a direct reference to David Lynch’s ‘Blue Velvet,’ where Dennis Hopper’s psychopath Frank Booth watches tormented torch singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) croon the titular song. In “Blinding Lights,” The Character is mesmerized by the musical stylings of an unnamed singer played by Miki Hamano, whose voice literally lifts him off the ground.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Twin Peaks’ (right)
We even get another hint of the Red Room from ‘Twin Peaks;’ in fact much of the eerie instrumental music that accompanies The Weeknd in the moments between videos and throughout the ‘After Hours’ short film have an Angelo Badalamenti vibe to them.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Joker’ (right)
Perhaps the most obvious reference in the video is his dancing, sometimes in the 2nd Street Tunnel, sometimes elsewhere throughout downtown Los Angeles, appears to be directly lifted from Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker as he dances to Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part 2” as he makes his way to make his late night debut in Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker.’
‘After Hours’ (left) and ‘The King of Comedy’ (right)
The After Hours short film, again directed by Tammi, takes place shortly after The Weeknd’s performance of “Blinding Lights” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The video begins as his set ends, The Character grinning like Rupert Pupkin at the end of Martin Scorese’s ‘The King of Comedy’ – itself a huge influence of Todd Phillips’s ‘Joker.’
‘After Hours’ (left) and ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ (right)
Tesfaye has stated influences on the short film also include Adrian Lyne’s psychological horror film ‘Jacob’s Ladder,’ which includes a scene where Tim Robbins is menaced by unknown forces in an empty subway station, Roman Polanki’s ‘Chinatown’ (the bandage on his nose), Claire Deni’s ‘Trouble Every Day,’ Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, and Brian De Palma’s ‘Dressed to Kill.’
“In Your Eyes” (left) and ‘Dial M for Murder’ (right)
The video with possibly the most film references is “In Your Eyes,” in which The Character wordlessly stalks a young blonde woman à la Michael Myers in John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween.’ The horror movie infused video has nods to everything from Wes Craven’s ‘Scream’ to Dario Argento’s Suspiria to Alfred Hitchcock. At one point the woman takes refuge in a phone booth – à la ‘The Birds’ – and dials for help. Tammi, uses an ultra close-up of the keys, an homage to ‘Dial M For Murder,’ in which Hitchcock blonde Grace Kelly’s husband Ray Milland has hired someone to murder her.
“In Your Eyes” (left) and ‘The Terminator’ (right)
The woman then flees to a club titled After Hours – which uses the exact same lightbulb font as the Tech Noir club in James Cameron’s ‘Terminator,’ an idea that came early in the creative ideation for the video.
The horror vibes continue in the video for “Too Late”, directed by Cliqua. After being decapitated at the end of the previous video, The Character’s head is found by two models on the side of the road. The world they inhabit feels akin to Nicholas Winding Refn’s psychological horror film ‘The Neon Demon,’ where the Los Angeles modeling scene is depicted as so bleak the models are literally eating each other alive. Tesfaye is a noted friend of director Refn.
“Too Late” (left) and ‘American Psycho’ (right)
When the two discover that the head belongs to The Weeknd, they concoct a nefarious plan to bring him back to life. Laying newspapers on their floor and donning clear plastic rain gear à la Mary Harron’s adaption of Bret Easton Ellis’s yuppie black comedy American Psycho, the girls lure an unsuspecting male stripper (Ken XY) to their home in order to murder him and place The Character’s head on his body. Spooky.
“Save Your Tears” (left) and ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (right)
In the most recent video, “Save Your Tears” again directed by Cliqua, The Character is now performing for a masked crowd straight out of Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Eyes Wide Shut.’ After appearing at the American Music Awards with a fully bandaged face like the models, his face has now clearly been marred by plastic surgery (looking quite a bit like Jocelyn Wildenstein aka the Tiger Woman of NYC).
“Save Your Tears” (left) and ‘Batman’ (right)
As the video ends, there is one last Joker reference – this time with Jack Nicholson’s iteration. In the climax of Tim Burton’s ‘Batman,’ he pulls a gun on himself after forcing Vicki Vale (Kim Basigner) to dance with him. Like Nicholson’s Joker, when he pulls the trigger there’s no bullet; The Character’s gun shoots confetti, just like the Joker’s gun pops out a flag.
Since these are just a few of the many references found throughout the music videos for After Hours (and in fact most of his music videos going back a decade), it’s only a matter of time before The Weeknd makes a feature film himself, or at least drops a link to his Letterboxd profile.
