Fresh off the rousing Venice world premiere of “The Smashing Machine,” Benny Safdie and Dwayne Johnson are already lining up their next collaboration.
The duo are set to reteam on “Lizard Music,” an adaptation of Daniel Pinkwater’s cult novel that Safdie will write and direct, with Johnson taking on the role of the eccentric “Chicken Man.” The package, according to Deadline, is expected to hit the market imminently.
Safdie scored Venice’s Silver Lion for “The Smashing Machine,” which drew acclaim for Johnson. However, don’t expect the same type of grounded work with their next effort, which seems to delving into the far-out surreal.
“Lizard Music” follows a lonely boy who stumbles upon a mysterious late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music. His search for answers leads him to Chicken Man and his elderly companion, Claudia — a 70-year-old chicken — who, like him, have glimpsed the impossible. What begins as a quest for a hidden society transforms into a journey through invisible worlds, strange harmonies, and the unbreakable bond between outsiders who discover magic in each other.
It’s been six years since Benny and Josh Safdie gave us “Uncut Gems,” the influential thriller that turned Adam Sandler into the embodiment of pure cinematic anxiety. They’ve since split up and it doesn’t look like they’ll be reuniting any time soon. Benny, a man on a mission, has been both acting and directing solo.
With “The Smashing Machine” positioning Johnson for a career-best pivot into more ambitious material, and a Scorsese project in development, “Lizard Music” signals the actor isn’t messing around when it comes to straying away from his usual action blockbuster persona and into indie territory. It’ll be interesting see if he’s got the chops to maintain the momentum.