Sam Esmail’s ‘Leave the World Behind’ to Open AFI Fest — Four Different Endings Test-Screened

We were all wondering where Sam Esmail’s “Leave the World Behind” would land. It has already been dated to stream via Netflix on December 8th.

The 2023 AFI Fest has just announced that its 37th edition will open with Esmail’s dystopian drama. The premiere will take place in Hollywood on October 25. Finally, some good news for this film.

It’s not that word of mouth was bad for “Leave the World Behind,” it’s just that Esmail and Netflix couldn’t seem to make up their minds on how they wanted their film to climax.

Back in April, word was that the Julia Roberts starring film, from Esmail, the creator of Mr. Robot, had test-screened four different endings.

Denzel Washington was originally supposed to star alongside Roberts but was replaced last year by Mahershala Ali. Kevin Bacon and Ethan Hawke also star in this mindbending dystopian drama.

Based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Rumaan Alam, the film is dated for a December 8th, 2023 launch, possibly World premiering at TIFF. Here’s the official synopsis via Netflix:

“An Airbnb family vacation on Long Island is interrupted by two strangers bearing news of a mysterious blackout. As the threat grows more imminent, both families must decide how best to survive the potential crisis, all while grappling with their own place in this collapsing world.”

Filming began on April 2022 in Long Island. It looks like an intriguing project. I just wish Washington had stayed on as planned, which is not to say Ali is not a great actor.

‘The Catch’: Emma Stone’s First Post-Lanthimos Movie Wraps, Brings in ‘Memoria’ DP Sayombhu Mukdeeprom

Mukdeeprom is well known on the arthouse circuit for his work with Apichatpong Weerasethakul (“Memoria”), and he also shot three Guadagnino movies.

Mike P. Nelson To Direct Eleventh (!) ‘Saw’ Movie as James Wan and Leigh Whannell Return to the Franchise

Mike P. Nelson will direct the next instalment of the franchise, which recently returned to the hands of its original architect, James Wan, who is producing under Atomic Monster, now part of Blumhouse, and Leigh Whannell.

Letterboxd Is Up for Sale, and A24, Sony and The New York Times Are Bidding

Letterboxd, the app where film Twitter went to live, could soon have a new owner. The New York Times, A24, and Sony Pictures are among the suitors who've expressed interest in buying the site.

Richard Linklater Says His Next Movie Is Now a Trilogy, and Funding Has Been a “Challenge”

Linklater has been planning a film about the transcendentalists, the "first hippies," a literary movement that included Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach Set to Play Kelso in Michael Mann's ‘Heat 2'

Ebon Moss-Bachrach will take on the role originated by the late Tom Noonan in 1995's "Heat." Guy Pearce was reportedly in the mix at one point, but Mann ultimately went with Moss-Bachrach.

August 19, 2019

3-Hour ‘Midsommar' Director's Cut Screened in NYC

This year’s 12th edition of the Scary Movies festival at Film at Lincoln Center premiered Ari Aster’s extended version of “Midsommar” this past Saturday.

CONFIRMED: Sadie Soverall Exits Brady Corbet's ‘The Origin of the World' Mid-Shoot, Lily McInerny Steps In Lead Role

Sadie Soverall was just let go after briefly filming on Corbet's new film — no official reason given. She had the lead role. Corbet has replaced her, last minute, with Lily McInerny.

Ron Howard’s ‘Alone at Dawn’ Starring Adam Driver and Anne Hathaway Sets Christmas 2027 Release

This is the adaptation of the nonfiction book by Dan Schilling and Lori Longfritz. It wrapped production in February and has been in post-production ever since. The film test-screened a few months ago.

Jeremy Saulnier’s Next Film Retitled to ‘Slayground,’ Current Runtime is 2.5 Hours, Plot Details

Jeremy Saulnier’s mysterious A24 project, formerly “October,” still has no release date. You’d think, given that it has been in post-production for almost a year now.

Jemima Kirke and Alexi Wasser to Star in Woody Allen's Next Film

A few months ago, Deadline reported that Woody Allen's next film, set in Madrid and carrying a $14M budget, will be "largely English-language" and feature a "high-profile cast."

Fritz Lang’s ‘M’ Tops the Best Films of the 1930s, According to 100+ Critics

We’ve gone through the decades. The ‘40s ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘2000s, and ‘2010s. — all revisited, argued over. Now, here are the results for the best films of the 1930s.

Critics Poll: ‘Citizen Kane' Named Best Film of the 1940s

The results are in, and according to critics, this decade filled with cinematic riches did not have a better film than Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane.” Nobody should be surprised by this result. “Citizen Kane” changed cinema forever.

Critics Poll: ‘Vertigo’ Named Best Film of the 1950s, Over 120 Participants

It was a closer race than anticipated, but Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” has topped our best of the ’50s poll, besting Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s “Singin’ in the Rain” by just two votes.

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