I’ve already written about Parker Finn’s upcoming remake of 1981’s “Possession,” possibly starring Robert Pattinson, and how a bidding war was going on, between numerous studios, including A24, Netflix, Warner Bros, Sony and Paramount.
Well, it looks like Paramount is nearing a deal on the project. THR is reporting that they are so “high” on Finn’s upcoming “Smile 2” that they will now be boarding “Possession” which is set to be his next film.
All I can say is, best of luck to whoever ends up taking the role originally, and brilliantly, played by Isabelle Adjani. She was an on-screen FORCE in “Possession.” It’s possibly one of the best female performances I’ve ever seen.
Set in West Berlin, “Possession” stars Sam Neill as a spy who returns home to his wife (Adjani) only to learn that she’s having an affair. She asks for a divorce; he hires a private investigator and that leads the story into this nightmare descent into utter and surreal hell.
This was Żuławski’s grueling meditation on marriage, written as a reaction to his own, which was also in its final days. “Possession” received very mixed reviews upon release but has since been reappraised as a classic, and for good reason — you’ve never a film quite like this one.
Finn’s surprise horror hit, 2022’s “Smile,” really came out of nowhere. It was his feature length debut and grossed $217M worldwide on a skimp $17M budget. Critical response was fairly positive as well, and now he’s directed the sequel, set for release on October 18.