News Analysis India

Tag: Directorial Debut

  • Kid Cudi to write, direct and feature in Netflix’s ‘Teddy’

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Rapper and actor Kid Cudi is all set to make his feature directorial debut with the Netflix movie ‘Teddy’, in which the star will be pulling multiple duties.

    The musician-actor, who is writing, directing and starring in the upcoming film, shared the exciting news with his fans via a lengthy post on his Instagram account.

    In the post, Cudi also shared that he has been working on the project since 2013. While it was earlier envisioned as a TV show, it finally became a film.

    “This year im directing my first feature film “Teddy” at Netflix which I wrote and will also be starring. This is a story I started writing in 2013 because I always wanted to write my own movie, so I said f–k it and started doing it. (MESSAGE!) The road has been long, from it being a tv show for years to finally being a film. So it means so fuckin much to finally be able to bring it to the screen next year, and I cant wait for u all to meet Teddy, his friends, his family and take a walk in his world for a bit,” he began his post.

    The rapper also shared that he added his own personal struggles and experiences in the movie.

    The rapper added, “If I could sum up what the movie is about in one sentence, id say this: It’s as if I took the song “Pursuit of Happiness” and wrote a movie about it. I added a lot of my own personal struggles and experiences in it, so this film is very close to my heart.”

    He further said, “I know, that deep down, this movie will help people in the same ways my music has. Im continuing my mission. Now this is a comedy, but It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t sprinkle some real shit in there. Its trippy, its fun, its sad, its life. The film is produced by the almighty Jeymes Samuel, Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, James Lassiter, MAD SOLAR and BRON. Special shout out to the homie Tendo Nagenda and Netflix for seeing the vision.”

    Concluding the post on an exciting note, he wrote, “The next chapter begins…” As per Variety, the new movie marks Cudi’s second collaboration with Samuel, Carter, Lassiter and Nagenda after the hitmaker contributed the track ‘Guns Go Bang’ for their Netflix Western earlier this year.

    The film’s music won awards from the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) and bagged nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association.

    It also marks a continuation of his relationship with Netflix after Cudi appeared onscreen in the streamer’s recent release ‘Don’t Look Up’ from director Adam McKay. He earned a SAG Award nomination alongside the movie’s star-studded ensemble and teamed up with Ariana Grande to pen the original song ‘Just Look Up’ for the film’s soundtrack.

    Cudi, who goes by Scott Mescudi on camera, was recently seen in ‘X’, the horror film from Ti West, which debuted earlier this month at SXSW and is now playing in cinemas. 

  • ‘Game Of Thrones’ star Lena Headey to make directorial debut

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘300’ star Lena Headey is to make her feature directorial debut on psychological thriller ‘Violet’.Based on the successful recent novel by SJI Holliday, the story follows two solo female travelers who immediately hit it off and decide to team up for the next leg of their adventure, reports ‘Deadline’. According to ‘Deadline’, as the journey continues things start to unravel – because neither of the women is who they claim to be.Producers describe it to us as having elements of The Talented Mr. Ripley and Single White Female, while publishers have also compared it to Killing Eve. The book originally was optioned by Dark Alliance Film. Ed Boase and Marcus Stamps from the company are aboard as executive producers. Production is slated to start in October.Headey wrote and directed 2019 BAFTA-nominated short film ‘The Trap’ and directed her GoT co-star Maisie Williams in a music video for singer Freya Ridings. The Emmy nominee recently starred in Netflix action-thriller ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’ and upcoming ‘The White House Plumbers’.Headey said: “Susi’s Violet is a compulsive page-turner that stayed with me long after I finished the book — it’s exciting that my first feature as a director will be such an intense female thriller. It’s a wild ride to the finish with vast cinematic scope, centering around two very complex women who will completely unravel over the course of the film. I can’t wait to get rolling.”Phil McKenzie, Goldfinch’s Chief Operating Officer, added: “Goldfinch Entertainment exists to fuel incredible projects and creative leaps – and we’re excited to be supporting the multi-talented Lena Headey’s foray into feature directing with this irresistible and chilling female-fronted thriller.””Gareth has deftly selected and adapted an impossible to put down the book into a riveting exploration of a casual friendship that goes deeply awry – and we can’t wait to see it come to life on screen.”

  • Kid Cudi joins Brittany Snow’s directorial debut ‘September 17th’

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Actress Brittany Snow announced that rapper Scott Mescudi, better known by his stage name Kid Cudi, has been cast in her feature directorial debut ‘September 17th’. In an interview with Variety about ‘X’, the horror film that Cudi and Snow star in together, the two shared their excitement about continuing to work together, reports variety.com.”I can’t really speak too much, except that Scott’s doing a part in the movie, so that’s cool,” Snow said. “I couldn’t believe that she wanted me in it,” Cudi said. “She had told me about the movie while we were on set (for ‘X’), but she never asked me to be in it. I was like, maybe she’s waiting to see how (‘X’) turns out. It’s gonna be awesome. Really great script.””I was watching Ti (West, director of ‘X’) a lot during the filming of this,” Snow said. “And I think that something that I learned from him that I’ll take with me is the specificity of knowing the through line of what you want, and being really strong and clear in your convictions of it.”I like to play around on set, but it lends itself really nicely when you know that your director has a complete handle on exactly what they want. I hope I can live up to what everyone else has been doing.”‘September 17th’ follows a woman, named Riley, who struggles with food and body image issues and has recently been discharged from rehab.She soon meets Ethan and must navigate the line between unconditional love and a new addiction. Snow directs the film from a screenplay she co-wrote with Becca Gleason.Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman produce under their Yale Production banner alongside Lizzie Shapiro under her production banner ‘The Space Program’. Executive producers include Nick Donnermeyer, Michael Rothstein, Jesse Korman and Jeffrey Tussi. Cudi is best known for his music career.His debut single was 2008’s ‘Day an’ Nite’, which later appeared on the album ‘Man on the Moon: The End of Day’. His other albums include ‘Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager’, ‘Indicud’ and ‘Man on the Moon III: The Chosen’, as well as ‘Kids See Ghosts’, a collaborative project with Kanye West.As an actor, his prominent credits include the films ‘Need for Speed’, ‘Entourage’ and ‘Don’t Look Up’. Snow had her breakout role when she joined the cast of the soap opera ‘Guiding Light’ in 1998.She is also well known for starring in ‘John Tucker Must Die’ and the ‘Pitch Perfect’ and had directed the 2019 short film ‘Milkshake’. ‘September 17th’ will be her first feature-length film as a director.