Elisabeth Moss (The Invisible Man), Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), and Kaia Gerber (Babylon) have signed on to star in the “sexy psychological thriller” Shell, which is set to be directed by Teen Spirit‘s Max Minghella from a screenplay written by Jack Stanley (Lou). Black Bear International will be presenting the project to potential international distributors at the Cannes Film Festival, and will be handling distribution themselves in the UK and Ireland. CAA Media Finance and WME Independent co-represent the domestic rights.
Shell is “set in a near future, when humanity’s cultural obsession with youth and beauty has been taken to new extremes“. Here’s the synopsis: Struggling actress Samantha (Elisabeth Moss) is given an opportunity to get a free trial at Shell, a pioneering health and beauty company which promises to keep its clients looking young forever. Samantha’s life and career is transformed by the treatment, and she develops a burgeoning friendship with Shell’s CEO, the ultra-glamorous Zoe Shannon (Kate Hudson). When a string of former Shell patients go missing under mysterious circumstances, including popular social media star Chloe Benson (Kaia Gerber), Samantha starts to fear she may be in danger herself.
Elisabeth Moss and Lindsey McManus are producing Shell for Love & Squalor Pictures. Also producing the film are Automatik’s Fred Berger and Brian Kavanaugh, Blank Tape’s Max Minghella, and Alicia Van Couvering.
Minghella had this to say about the project: “Shell packs a wildly entertaining genre movie with iconic characters and universal themes that are bound to have people talking long after they leave the theater. I’m so thrilled to be bringing it to life with this extraordinary cast and the incredible support of Black Bear International, Love & Squalor and Automatik.“
Moss added: “This is one of the most unique, entertaining and special scripts I’ve ever read and I am so honored to be a part of it as an actor and flattered that Max came to me with this character, who’s unlike anyone I’ve ever played before. Having worked with Max for years on The Handmaid’s Tale, I’m so thrilled to now be directed by him as I’m a huge fan of his as a filmmaker. We at Love & Squalor are also excited to be working alongside Automatik and Black Bear, two companies we very much admire.“
I haven’t seen Minghella’s feature directorial debut Teen Spirit, but he has definitely assembled an interesting cast for his second feature. I’m totally on board to watch a thriller that stars Moss, Hudson, and Gerber.
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