Writer/director Andrew Patterson premiered “The Vast of Night” at the 2019 Slamdance Film Festival in January 2019. Despite not being a fan of it, I wrote that he was a major talent to watch.
Eventually, Amazon Studios acquired distribution rights to the film not too long after its TIFF screening and, finally, released it on May 29, 2020, at drive-in theaters in the United States and via video-on-demand on Prime Video.
Here’s some good news. According to Black Bear International, Patterson’s next film is set to be “The Rivals of Amziah King,” which will feature Matthew McConaughey as the lead.
The film’s exact details are still mystery, but ‘Amziah King’ is rumoured to be a crime thriller set in Oklahoma. Production is set to begin later this year.
Although the budget on ‘Vast of Night’ wasn’t divulged, some reports had the total production cost at just under $500,000. There was so much energy, enthusiasm, and a clearcut love for its decades-old influences that more than a few critics praised ‘Vast of Night.’
I wasn’t one of those people. The screenplay was weak. However, there were good ideas in that film and I believe Patterson could make great films in the near future, he showed an indelible feel for framing and staging throughout.
For such a lo-fi movie, he truly defied the odds with his uncanny filmmaking skills.
Meanwhile, McConaughey hasn’t acted in a movie since 2019 where he starred in three of them: “Serenity,” “The Beach Bum” and “The Gentleman.” It looks as though ‘Amziah King’ will be his first film in over four years.