UPDATE: Lanthimos’ latest has officially been Rated R for strong/disturbing violent content, strong sexual content, full nudity and language.
EARLIER: Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kind of Kindness,” which once again stars Emma Stone, is an anthology film. Here's Lanthimos describing the nature of this film:
It’s a contemporary film, set in the US – three different stories, with four or five actors who play one part in each story, so they all play three different parts. It was almost like making three films, really.
So, in a way, we’re getting three new Lanthimos films in 2024. With that said, an update has come our way, and it really amps up my excitement for Lanthimos’ latest.
Vanity Fair’s Little Gold Men has a scoop, based on industry people who saw and heard about “Kinds of Kindness,” that the film is said to be “hostile, aggressive, more like his early work and almost 3-hour long.”
Music to my ears. I didn’t expect it to be that long, but it does make sense, given Lanthimos’ previous statement that it felt like he was making three films in one shot. I gather each one of the stories being told here must be anywhere between 45-60 minutes.
The cast of ‘Kindness’ includes Stone, Margaret Qualley, Willem Dafoe, Joe Alwyn, Jesse Plemons, Hong Chau, and Hunter Schafer. The film was shot while Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” was in the final stages of VFX adjustments. The post-production took so long that Lanthimos decided to shoot another film.
Plot details have been kept under wraps. However, Lanthimos mentioned the film in a 2020 interview with Kelly Reichardt. It was written much earlier in his career, and might go as far back as 2015 or 2016.
“Kinds of Kindness” is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month. Searchlight also recently announced a June 21, 2024 theatrical release date for the film.
Edward Berger seems to have settled on what comes next. His Lance Armstrong biopic, starring Austin Butler, is now holding casting calls, with production eyed for January.