A24 is supporting the project after working with Aster on his fan-favorite horror films “Hereditary” and “Midsommar”.
Joaquin Phoenix and Ari Aster
Evan Agostini / Invision / AP; zz / KGC-03 / STAR MAX / IPx
Rumors have been circulating for months that Ari Aster and Joaquin Phoenix were eyeing a collaboration, and now Deadline confirms that the project is officially moving forward, with funding and production from the A24. Aster worked with A24 on his acclaimed horror films “Hereditary” and “Midsommar”. While Deadline reports that the film was purchased for buyers after Phoenix pledged to star, A24 “was always in pole position” to get the film.
The Aster and Phoenix film is titled “Disappointment Blvd.” and is described as “an intimate portrait of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time”, spanning decades No further information on the plot is being released at this time. Aster and Lars Knudsen are ready to produce the A24 film through their Square Peg production banner.
Deadline reports: “As for production, although the start date is unknown at this point, it is very likely that Phoenix will shoot before Ridley Scott’s photo ‘Kitbag’, where Phoenix will play Napoleon Bonaparte. Scott is preparing his police thriller Gucci, making Kitbag production more likely for early 2022. ”
“Disappointment Blvd.” is scheduled to be Phoenix’s first production since winning the Oscar for “Joker” in 2020. Before the Oscar, the actor finished filming Mike Mills’s new film, “C’mon C’mon”, which also has the A24 support. Mills’ film has no release date yet, but it could enter the festival circuit later this year.
As for Aster, the filmmaker mentioned in July 2020 during an interview at UC Santa Barbara that his next film would be a “nightmare comedy”. Aster said he had just finished a new draft of the script at the time and added: “All I know is that it will be four hours long.” Whether or not “Disappointment Blvd.” it is the “nightmare comedy” Aster was referring to, it remains to be seen, but the provocation of the “decades-long” plot could align with Aster’s revelation that everything he does next will have a runtime of four hours.
Aster’s films proved to be profitable for A24, both at the box office and with film critics. “Hereditary” raised $ 44 million at the national box office, while “Midsommar” raised just under $ 30 million in the United States.
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