We finally have an update on this one.
Selena Gomez is set to star in Brady Corbet’s “The Origin of the World,” which is currently in pre-production, with a 50-day shoot slated for Portugal and South Africa (via The InSneider).
The script is currently 200 pages, whereas “The Brutalist,” which ran 3.5 hours, was 150 — Corbet has been saying this next film will be “four hours long and X-rated.” He plans to shoot it on 65mm film.
Corbet confirmed the western would tackle Northern California immigration, span 150 years — from the 19th century into the present day — though it is predominantly focused on the 1970s. In a recent interview, he added that it would tackle “American mysticism and the history of the occult in America,” and that he’s been working with an occultist historian named Mitch Horowitz.
This will mark Corbet’s fourth feature following “The Childhood of a Leader,” “Vox Lux,” and “The Brutalist,” the latter of which earned 10 Oscar nominations and won three, including Best Actor (Adrien Brody), Best Cinematography (Lol Crawley), and Best Original Score (Daniel Blumberg). Blumberg is returning to score ‘Origin,’ no word yet on whether Crawley, who is currently lensing Damien Chazelle’s new film in Greece, will be able to come back.
No studio is currently attached. I would bet either A24, Neon, or Mubi will acquire it. Regardless, it could be ready in time for a 2027 release.
As for Gomez, she’s Emmy-nominated for “Only Murders in the Building,” and at the movies, has a knack for being very picky with the projects she chooses; working with auteur filmmakers such as Woody Allen, Jim Jarmusch, Jacques Audiard, and Harmony Korine.
Festival press conferences have turned into landmines of political questioning, to the point where some artists would probably prefer to turn down being a juror at Cannes, Venice, or Berlin.