Jeremy Saulnier’s mysterious A24 project now has a title, “October.” Not just that, Cory Michael Smith will star in the lead role. The film is set to shoot this fall.
While specifics about Smith’s role remain undisclosed, Deadline’s sources describe “October” as a “fugitive thriller set around Halloween.” Saulnier penned the screenplay and is directing. A24 will finance and produce the project.
Smith, a rising talent, is coming off Jesse Armstrong’s HBO movie “Mountainhead,” where he portrayed Ven Parish, the world’s richest man. He also stole the show for his portrayal of Chevy Chase in Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night.”
Smith recently wrapped work on A24’s “Famous,” and will next appear in Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, a Cannes Grand Prix winner co-starring Renate Reinsve, Elle Fanning, and Stellan Skarsgård.
Early word suggests Saulnier’s “October” is a gritty, high-intensity chase thriller in the vein of “The Fugitive,” but infused with the raw, grounded energy that’s become a signature of his work. Trades had previously mentioned that the script channels the same urgency and punk-edged ferocity that gave “Green Room” its relentless momentum.
The announcement of a new Jeremy Saulnier film is exciting news. His 2014 breakout “Blue Ruin” remains one of the great modern indie thrillers, and 2016’s “Green Room”—a brutal neo-Nazi siege film—felt like an experimental horror movie in punk clothing.
Saulnier’s films are violent, and he has a rare gift for staging brutality with unflinching precision—you feel every shot, every stab, every impact. He’s one of the most distinctive voices working in genre cinema today.