Cinematographer turned feature filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier turned everyone’s head earlier this year with the release of the unnerving revenge thriller “Blue Ruin.” That gave him enough juice to set up his next project rather quickly, which is already shooting. Titled “The Green Room,” the movie follows a punk rock band who find themselves trapped in a secluded venue after stumbling upon an act of violence, fighting for their lives against a gang of white power skinheads.
The movie stars Patrick Stewart, Imogen Poots, Anton Yelchin, Mark Webber, Alia Shawkat “Blue Ruin” star Macon Blair, Joe Cole and more. Stewart stars as the Neo-Nazi leader and he’s tweeted out a first look. Put this one high up on your 2015 most anticipated list and hope it’s ready by Cannes or the next fall film festival season.
Here’s a few more recent first looks from films we’re anticipating too. First up is Craig Zobel’s “Z for Zachariah” starring Chris Pine, Margot Robbie, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Zobel is the filmmaker behind the controversial indie hit “Compliance,” and this is a first big leap with a mainstream and name brand cast. The movie is a post-apocalyptic thriller about a small-town girl (Robbie) who lives alone on a farm in the only valley with breathable air in the wake of nuclear war. Her world is turned upside down when two strangers wander in from the forest. It’s very possible this picture turns up at Sundance.
In a slightly different direction is first look images from the comedy “Get Hard.”Directed by screenwriter Etan Cohen (“Men In Black 3,” “Tropic Thunder“) and starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart. It’s about millionaire (Ferrell) who us nailed for fraud. Bound for San Quentin, he turns to a local wannabe thug (Hart) to prep him to go behind bars.The movie also co-stars Alison Brie, rapper T.I. and more.
Another Sundance potential is “Man Down.” It stars Shia LaBeouf, Kate Mara, Gary Oldman, Jai Courtney and Clifton Collins Jr. and is the next directorial effort of Dito Montiel (“A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” “The Son Of No One“). The movie is also set in “savage post-apocalyptic” America, and stars La Beouf as a U.S. Marine who searches desperately for the whereabouts of his estranged son and wife (Mara). Accompanied by his marine best friend (Courtney), the two intercept an apocalypse survivor (Collins Jr.) carrying vital information about the whereabouts of Gabriel’s family.
Two more: “Take Down” starring Ed Westwick, Jeremy Sumpter, Phoebe Tonkin and Sebastian Koch. Directed by Jim Gillespie (“I Know What You Did Last Summer”), it’s about the wayward sons and daughters of international billionaires who are sent to a boot camp to take responsibility for their lives, but when they are taken hostage and held for a billion dollar ransom by a group of kidnappers, the young captives suddenly need every ounce of their brief training to survive. And below is a first look image from Thomas Vinterberg’s next film, “The Commune,” which stars Danish actors Ulrich Thomsen, Trine Dyrholm, Helene Reingaard Neumann, Lars Ranthe, Fares Fares and more.