After working with Joel and Ethan Coen, John Hillcoat, Andrew Dominik, Paul Thomas Anderson, Wong Kar-wai, Kathryn Bigelow, David O. Russell, Spike Jonze, Werner Herzog, Bennett Miller, and Richard Linklater, producer Megan Ellison has been deemed something of a cinephile savior in today’s increasingly garish blockbuster movie world. And once again, the producer has spotlighted another major talent and set up a new project for her.
Annapurna Pictures and Vice are teaming up for "The Bad Batch," the latest effort from Ana Lily Amirpour. She’s the breakout filmmaker behind the cult sensation "A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night" (our review), which earned serious buzz all through 2014 (and received a lot of shine in our Best of 2014 coverage), and her latest sounds like another promising take on genre tropes. The film is a dystopian love story set in a Texas wasteland, but beyond that, there are no plot details. Development is underway, but a start date hasn’t yet been set.
Meanwhile, another filmmaker who also blew up the cult circuit last year is Jim Mickle, whose steamy, neon, Texas noir "Cold In July" earned a fair share of attention. Now, Deadline reports he’ll direct "The Esperanza Fire," based on the book by John N. Maclean. Sean O’Keefe ("The Escapist," "Riders on the Storm," "The Paper Man") penned the script that follows the men who battle unpredictable forest wildfires. Hot. No word yet on when it will lens.
Making THE BAD BATCH is essential to my soul. @Lilyinapad is an epic talent. pic.twitter.com/gzPHdNIwVW
— Megan Ellison (@meganeellison) January 6, 2015
