Producer J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production company have been keeping the genre output flowing as of late. Abrams' Bad Robot has the R-rated zombie-Nazi flick OVERLORD hitting this month, and the company just put out Hulu's Stephen King series CASTLE ROCK earlier this year. And today we have word via THR that Bad Robot is now heading towards production on a new "dramatic thriller" called LOU. Expect that title to change.
The script, by Maggie Cohn with revisions by Jack Stanley, is described as being a tonal mix of THELMA AND LOUISE and TAKEN. It follows:
a young woman and her landlord, Lou, who team up to track down the former’s child after the girl is kidnapped by the woman's estranged husband.
Anna Foster directs the flick, which just snagged its star with Academy Award winner Allison Janney who plays the landlord mentioned above. She's described as "a hard-shelled and rule-breaking woman that has unexpectedly impressive tracking abilities, among other skill sets."
This is pretty exciting news as Janney has never really starred in a horror flick. In fact, the closest thing I could personally find that comes close to our beloved genre was her role in Tim Burton's kooky kid's flick MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (see review below). Plus a small-ass role in Mike Nichols' WOLF starring Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, and James Spader. Welcome to the fold, Janney! Glad to have you!
Foerster, known for her work on such hit TV series such as OUTLANDER and Netflix's JESSICA JONES helms the movie, which will be produced by Abrams and Braden Aftergood (HELL OR HIGH WATER). This Bad Robot thriller LOU was put into turnaround recently by Paramount but is now raising financing to make the movie independently. The production is eyeing a spring start in 2019.
How does this new "dramatic thriller" sound to you thus far? Let us know what you think below!