EXCLUSIVE: Ahead of Sony’s CinemaCon presentation tonight, where we’re told that Zach Cregger will be on hand to tout his Resident Evil movie, and we’ve learned of a new project from the filmmaker.
Following his success alongside Roy Lee on Weapons, and his breakout horror flick Barbarian before that — with their Resident Evil movie slated for September — we’re told the duo are next set to reteam as producers on Little One, a dark comedy that will mark the feature debut of Cregger’s friend Alex Kavutskiy.
Based on a script from Kavutskiy, the film centers on a sudden change in a child’s behavior that threatens to tear a picture-perfect family apart — which sounds reminiscent of a certain film from Cregger that broke out as one of last year’s big success stories.
The project marks a return to his roots for Cregger, a founding member and writer for the New York comedy troupe, The Whitest Kids U’ Know, which went on to its own sketch show running for five seasons on IFC TV and Fuse after forming at The School of Visual Arts in New York City.
Chris McEwen (Love, Simon) will also produce Little One, along with Amanda Phillips and Melina Torres of Soto Productions (Winner, The Assistant). Alex Lebovici’s Hammerstone Studios is on board to finance, in a reunion with Cregger post-Barbarian.
Casting is underway on the film, which has been awarded a California tax credit and is slated to enter production in Los Angeles in June. Ibrahim Mohammed of Script 2 Screen will also serve as EP and co-financier of the film alongside Chase Vigari. David Goldman, Michael Learner and Karina Manashil are also EPs, with Sacker Entertainment Law handling production legal.
A writer on the recently released Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat, Kavutskiy’s previous directing credits include the Sundance short Squirrel and the Adult Swim special Cool Dad. He has also co-authored an upcoming book, The Tribe and I Have Spoken, centered on the lore and legacy of the television series Survivor, which hits shelves later this spring. He is repped by CAA and Ziffren Brittenham.
Recently wrapping production on his Resident Evil film, based on the survival horror video games from Capcom, Cregger is coming off a banner year with Weapons, a runaway horror hit that grossed over $269M worldwide and won Amy Madigan an Oscar for her indelible, terrifying turn as Aunt Gladys. As he plots his next moves after ascending to the upper echelon of directors, he’s already hatched plans for a Weapons prequel that has added Zach Shields as a co-writer, as we first reported recently. Cregger is repped by CAA, Artists First, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
In addition to Weapons, Lee also last year took a victory lap with Warner Bros.’ release of A Minecraft Movie to over $960M worldwide. Following additional work on projects like The Strangers trilogy from Lionsgate, It: Welcome to Derry, and The Long Walk, he has the Minecraft sequel coming up, among many other projects. Up next for release, though, is his supernatural horror film Hokum from writer-director Damian McCarthy, which Neon unveils on May 1st.
Hammerstone Studios is the financier and producer behind By Any Means, the Civil Rights-era thriller starring Yahya Abdul Mateen II and Mark Wahlberg that we first reported on, which was just recently acquired by Paramount for theatrical release. Also known for Barbarian, Bill & Ted Face the Music, Don’t Move, Flight Risk and more, their upcoming slate also includes At the Sea, the Kornél Mundruczó drama starring Amy Adams, which premiered at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.