“The Craft” (Director: Zoe Lister-Jones)
There are too many reboots! This is a fact of life! And yet it’s impossible to be mad that a Blumhouse-backed, female-helmed “The Craft” reboot is coming down the line. The 1996 original, a coming-of-age film about a clashing coven of teenage girls, though a cult classic, is notably lacking in girl power. Hopefully, this remake, which stars David Duchovny, Cailee Spaeny (“Bad Times at the El Royale,” “On the Basis of Sex”), Michelle Monaghan (“Mission: Impossible – Fallout”), and Gideon Adlon (“Blockers”), will give the old film a nice new coat of paint. We certainly have faith in Zoe Lister-Jones as writer-director – her 2017 debut Band Aid marked an assured first feature. This one is in post-production, so it’s definitely coming out this year, it’s just a matter of when. Our divine intuition says October. –LW
“The World to Come” (Director: Mona Fastvold)
There was a fascinating one-two punch in 2014 and 2015 that announced a bold new filmmaking partnership (and romance): Norwegian filmmaker Mona Fastvold and actor-turned-director Brady Corbet. They both co-wrote “The Sleepwalker” (2014) and “The Childhood of a Leader” (2015), Fastvold directing the former and Corbet directing the latter, but of course, her (very excellent), strange, disquieting, Lynch meets Bergman-like drama of abusive relationships and family was totally overlooked (it’s great). He would go on to acclaim and directing “Vox Lux” (which she also co-wrote), and Fastvold hadn’t really been heard since (to be fair, she had a baby). She finally returns with “The World to Come” which stars Vanessa Kirby, Katherine Waterston, Casey Affleck and Jesse Plemson. Set in the American frontier in the 19th century, it’s essentially a forbidden love story and Western, starring the two female leads, with Affleck presumably as one of their husbands. The movie is also written by the writer of “The Assassination Of Jesses James,” and produced by Affleck (who starred in it), so god, wouldn’t it be great to get another arty, meditative, moving western in that vein? Late 2020 at best or the fall, but keep an eye out. – RP
“Mainstream” (Director: Gia Coppola)
Let’s face it, the creative Coppola dynasty creates lots of little geniuses (and they have the nepotism and connections to take that talent to the next level). The latest from the clan to get into films is Gia Coppola, Francis’ granddaughter, Sofia’s niece (and the daughter of the late Gian-Carlo Coppola, who died in a tragic boating accident at the age of 22). Gia Coppola made her debut in 2013 with “Palo Alto,” a film with a lot of dreamy, spiritual connection to Sofia’s movies. Her latest, “Mainstream,” sounds similarly plot-free and more experiential. It stars Maya Hawke, Andrew Garfield and Jason Schwartzman, follows three lovers who struggle to preserve their identities as they form an eccentric love triangle within the fast-moving world. The movie also stars Johnny Knoxville (weird, right?), Chris Messina, Alexa Demie and Colleen Camp. It’s shot and should be close to completion soon, so it’s probably a matter of what film festival they want to try and debut at which we’d assume is either Cannes or something in the fall. – RP
“Promising Young Woman” (Director: Emerald Fennell)
Who better to direct a stylish and satirical rape-revenge thriller than the new showrunner of “Killing Eve”? Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman,” which debuts at Sundance shortly, follows Cassie (Carrie Mulligan) as she feigns inebriation in order to punish would-be date rapists. This marks Fennell’s directorial debut, based on her own script and starring Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Connie Britton, Adam Brody, Jennifer Coolidge, and Laverne Cox in supporting roles. This is obviously a loaded subject to tackle, and I am already bristling at all the inevitable thinkpieces calling it a “#MeToo movie.” (What is a “#MeToo movie”? Three years post-watershed moment, it seems a term better suited to SEO rankings than actual nuanced discussion of feminist politics.) Empowered-rape-victim movies rarely succeed at walking the line between hollow, you-go-girl vapidity and unrelenting bleakness, but the stylish visuals and strong performers behind “Young Woman” point toward a sardonic and satirical take on the subgenre. You be the judge on April 17, when Focus Features gives it a wide release. —LW
“The Story of My Wife” (Director: Ildiko Enyedi)
Known for “On Body and Soul,” which won the top prize at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival and went on to be nominated for a Foreign Language Academy Award in 2017, Hungarian filmmaker Ildiko Enyedi’s latest sounds like her biggest yet and certainly with the most starry cast. The film features Léa Seydoux, Louis Garrel, Gijs Naber, Josef Hader, Sergio Rubini, and Jasmine Trinca. A variation of the legend of the Flying Dutchman, the film centers on a sea captain who makes a bet in a cafe with a friend that he will marry the first woman who walks in and then she does. It’s been done for a while and first looks surfaced in spring 2019, so one has to suspect it’s going to hit an international film festival soon.– RP
“Zola” (Director: Janicza Bravo)
“Zola” is already one of the coolest films of 2020, and nobody has even seen it yet. Bought by A24 before its Sundance premiere, directed by eccentric up-and-comer Janicza Bravo, and based on a viral Twitter thread, “Zola” tells the story of a stripper friendship gone awry. Taylour Paige (“White Boy Rick,” “Jean of the Joneses”) plays the titular character, with Riley Keough as her unpredictable guide through the world of Florida strip clubs. Not only is the story here golden, the film’s creative team is fantastic: Bravo brought her first feature, “Lemon,” to Sundance in 2017 and directed the unforgettable “Juneteenth” episode of “Atlanta;” cinematographer Ari Wegner also worked on “Lady Macbeth” and “In Fabric,” and “Under the Skin” scorer Mica Levi will provide the film’s music. This film is destined to be stylish, and we can’t wait to see what Bravo does with this already crazy narrative. Look out for a more specific date, but A24 definitely has it slated for this year. —LW
25. “The Roads Not Taken” (Director: Sally Potter)
Technically still untitled, but using the working title, for now, Sally Potter’s latest follows a day in the life of a father (Javier Bardem) and his daughter, (Elle Fanning) as she grapples with the challenges of her dad’s chaotic mind. As they weave their way through New York City, his journey takes on a hallucinatory “what if?” quality as he considers alternate lives he could have lived, leaving her to wrestle with her own path as she considers her future. Salma Hayek and Laura Linney co-star. Known for directing “Orlando” (1992) which helped put Tilda Swinton on the map, Potter’s barely caught a break since and 2012’s “Ginger & Rosa” also starring Fanning—and yet another film featuring a terrible, selfish, absentee father—is painfully underrated and was horribly slept on at the time. Bleecker Street puts this one into the world on March 13, 2020, so hopefully, there’s some redemption for Potter.
