Darren Aronofsky’s new film, “Caught Stealing,” is set for August 27 release via Sony. Vanity Fair now has our first look images — eight of them — which can be seen below.
The film follows a burned-out former baseball player (Austin Butler) who is plunged into a wild fight for survival in the downtown criminal underworld of ‘90s NYC. Sounds like something the Safdies would concoct.
Based on the book by Charlie Huston, who also wrote the script, “Caught Stealing” is peculiarly dated for the final days of summer. Sony is producing the film, which is being dubbed a “thriller”.
Set to join Butler in the film are Matt Smith, Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Vincent D’Onofrio, Liev Schreiber, Bad Bunny and Griffin Dunne. I don’t think Dunne’s casting is a coincidence; he was the lead in Martin Scorsese’s “After Hours” which this film, apparently, might heavily be inspired by.
During filming, Aronofsky recommended that Butler rewatch Scorsese’s 1985 dark comedy to “get a feel for the vibe he wanted.”
Darren Aronofsky’s most recent film, “The Whale,” hit theaters in 2022 and received generally positive feedback. The movie also earned Brendan Fraser an Academy Award for Best Actor. Despite its modest $3M budget, “The Whale” performed well at the box office, bringing in $54M globally.
Personally, I wasn’t a fan of The Whale, much like my lukewarm reactions to “Noah,” and “The Fountain.” That said, I still consider Aronofsky a significant filmmaker thanks to his work on “The Wrestler,” “Black Swan,” and “Requiem for a Dream” — three films I regard as truly exceptional.
