Few filmmakers chase danger the way Brady Corbet does. After the operatic maximalism of “The Brutalist” and a decade of formally audacious work, the director is now preparing what may be his most ambitious undertaking yet: a large-format, X-rated, decades-spanning epic shot entirely on 70mm film. And unlike the misinformation swirling around online, Corbet wants the record corrected — directly, bluntly, and without qualification.
“Well, all I can say about the new film is that there’s been a lot of misinformation,” he told THR. “It’s true that the film is an X-rated movie, and it’s true that it takes place mostly in the 1970s, but the film spans from the 19th century into the present day — it’s just predominantly focused on the ’70s.”
Corbet was even more emphatic about debunking rumors that the new project is some slasher riff. “The film is really, really genre-defying. But it was reported that the movie has something to do with ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,’ which is not true at all.”
The director says the misunderstanding has followed him everywhere. “I just keep getting asked about it in interviews. They’re like, ‘I heard it’s inspired by Texas Chain Saw Massacre.’ I’m like, ‘It’s about Northern California’s economy.’” He laughed, but the point stands: this is not a grindhouse horror film. It’s something stranger, bigger, and more ambitious.
Corbet says he’s already deep into testing the film’s unusual image systems. “As of right now, I am doing camera tests for it all day tomorrow. It’s our third round of tests. We are shooting on really, really rarefied formats that have usually shot shots in movies, but not entire movies before.”
That includes formats usually reserved for sequences — not full features. “And the movie will be entirely shot on 70mm, which we’re really thrilled about. The plan is to work a lot with eight perforations and 15 perforations, which is exciting because it’s not an action movie,” he said. “I love big spectacle, technical releases, so it’s interesting to have a film that is absolutely not that, that’s still shot with that same tech.”
Production hasn’t officially rolled yet, but Corbet’s timeline is locked in — for now. “We’re supposed to start next summer, but there’s nine months between now and then, so anything could happen, but we start prep next month,” he said. “It’s territory that’s totally uncharted for us, which is always nerve-wracking and exciting in equal measure.”
If Corbet follows through on this vision — an X-rated, non-slasher, 70mm epic about economics, history, and the long shadow of American myth — it may be one of the boldest swings an American filmmaker has taken in years. And, true to form, he sounds thrilled by the risk. Pencil in for Most Anticipated Film Of 2027? Either way, Corbet has seemingly mastered the art of creating the arthouse event film in a way that should make Christopher Nolan proud.
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2008. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
