Lips Like Sugar: Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson star in crime thriller set in 1984

Woody Harrelson (True Detective) and Owen Wilson (Loki) have signed on to star in the coming-of-age thriller Lips Like Sugar, Deadline reports. Brantley Gutierrez will be making his feature directorial debut on this one after more than a decade of working on short films and music videos.

Scripted by Anthony Tambakis (Warrior), Lips Like Sugar is said to be set during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and is apparently “loosely based on a true story”. It’s also set “against the backdrop of the punk and skate worlds of West Los Angeles.” Here’s the synopsis: As the new friendship of two teenage girls from different walks of life unfolds and city officials focus on the Olympics, the lives of two former detectives (Harrelson and Wilson) become intertwined when one of the young girls goes missing.

Harrelson, Tambakis, and Gutierrez are producing the film with Russ Posternak of Post Films, Kevin Chinroy and Francesca Silvestri of Freestyle Picture Company, Jeremy Plager of 7 Deuce, Kyle Schember of Subtractive, Greg Lauritano, and Zac Adams. Anna Schwartz is co-producing, while Tara Craig, Jaykant R. Patel, Rama K. Penta, and Raj Penta are executive producers.

Will Butler of Arcade Fire, who received an Oscar nomination for composing the Her score with Owen Pallett, will be composing the score for Lips Like Sugar.

Deadline notes that the director has previously worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, U2, Tom Petty, Jack White, Arcade Fire, Bjork, The Foo Fighters, Rihanna, and Emma Stone on various projects over the years. Gutierrez is now searching for actors to make up the supporting cast around Harrelson and Wilson in his feature debut.

Lips Like Sugar is off to a promising start, as far as I’m concerned. Harrelson and Wilson are awesome, I enjoyed Warrior, and a 1980s setting is always welcome. I look forward to seeing how this one is going to turn out.

Since writing Warrior, Tambakis has also worked on the Natalie Portman western Jane Got a Gun and the David Oyelowo comedy Gringo… but I haven’t seen either of those yet.

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