I’m going to go on and pretend that Zoe Kravitz’s directorial debut is still called “Pussy Island.” They should have kept that title. A trailer has been released for “Pussy Island,” which MGM/Amazon have given an August 23 rollout in theaters.
Last August, Kravitz stood by the film’s original title, even as she encountered pushback by her studio to change it. She told The Wall Street Journal that “the title came from that world. The title is the seed of the story.” And yet, a few months later, they got rid of it.
The upcoming thriller follows a cocktail waitress who falls hard for a tech mogul and travels with him to his private island, where things turn very weird. Our resident test-screener saw “Pussy Island” late last year. Here’s what they had to say:
I attended a test screening of Zoe Kravitz’ new thriller “Pussy Island” and I was absolutely floored. It’s a total white knuckle thrill ride, especially the final 30 minutes; such nail biting tension, it’s incredibly directed to a T and it pushes all kinds of boundaries with its provocative take on the “battle of the sexes”. Channing Tatum has never been this good (or genuinely menacing, seriously got a gasp from me towards the end when he delivers a monologue) and the rest of the cast shine just as much, this has to also be Naomi Ackie’s best work to date undoubtedly, she maintains such an air of believability throughout and really delivers the humor/horror/fight back attitude that her character goes through. There were moments where I was getting major Green Room vibes with the ratcheting of the suspense and onslaught of the violence.
Kravitz co-wrote the film with E.T. Feigenbaum and was inspired to tell the story via the “powerful men” who invited women to remote islands for sexcapades. Um, Jeffrey Epstein? That name is going to be inescapable by the time this film gets released.
“It represents this time where it would be acceptable for a group of men to call a place that, and the illusion that we’re out of that time now,” she continued.
The upcoming thriller has Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum in the lead roles. The “Pussy Island” cast also includes Simon Rex, Christian Slater, Alia Shawkat, Geena Davis, Adria Arjona, and … Haley Joel Osment? Kyle MacLachlan is said to be featured in a small role.
The trailer hints at a well-shot film. Steven Soderbergh is a fan of Kravitz branching into the directing field. He says that, “of the people that I could name who I think have a real shot at coming out of the gate making something really distinctive and strong, she’s at the top of that list.”