LAS VEGAS – Even with CinemaCon traditionally occurring just a few weeks beforehand, it’s rare for a film in competition at Cannes to screen footage at the annual theater owner event, but that’s exactly what happened during Neon’s presentation. The independent studio premiered a potential trailer for Na Hong-jin’s “Hope,” which it acquired U.S. rights to last week. And the South Korean filmmaker looks like he has something special to unleash upon the world.
The Sci-Fi film takes place in the fictional, remote village of Hope Harbor near the DMZ, the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Officers think they are investigating a tiger that has wandered into Hope. As the footage begins, a police woman (Jung Ho-yeon) finds a deserted town that looks like a tornado swept through it. She and her partner quickly encounter unimaginable monsters wreaking havoc and destruction. Another team finds itself chased in a nearby forest by another creature. There is a shot of an alien ship descending through the clouds (Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender are credited as playing aliens, but were not shown), and it ends with a creature with a giant jaw flying through the air about to snack on someone.
Beautifully shot by cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo (“Snowpiercer,” “Parasite”), Hong-Jin appears to have crafted a prestige genre film not seen in competition at Cannes in ages. Sci-Fi or fantasy is usually relegated to the sidebars or out of competition. “Hope” may have a message, a statement about society that Hong-jin wants to convey, but it also looks like a genre thriller that could win over a relatively broad audience. Considering Neon’s success with “Parasite” and “No Other Choice,” this September 18th release may be another South Korean “surprise” at the box office. And, notably, the exhibitors in the audience responded were very down with it.
Another movie that could be a significant financial windfall for Neon is Chloe Dumont’s “A Place in Hell,” which the mini-major revealed would drop at Christmas yesterday. Dumont’s follow-up to 2023 Sundance breakout “Fair Play,” this thriller finds Michelle Williams as a career lawyer who thinks she’s on the verge of becoming a partner at her firm. As she nears her maternity leave, a younger lawyer, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, is brought in to replace her. Williams’ character begins to speculate that not only is Edgar-Jones’ character gunning for her job full-time, but is also trying to destroy her life. Even flirting with her husband, played by Andrew Scott. That’s when Williams flips and decides to take her down, until, as the trailer reveals, Edgar-Jones isn’t going down without a fight.
We’re not sure “A Place in Hell” has any awards prospects (it could), but commercially, it’s a perfect fit for a Christmas release. Especially after the success of “The Housemaid” a few months ago. Considering this was likely Neon’s first pass at a trailer, the final preview should get a whole segment of moviegoers excited for a two-hour holiday week distraction.
Neon also had Adam Scott on hand to introduce the new trailer for “Hokum,” Boots Riley and LaKeith Stanfield on stage to promote the fantastic “I Love Boosters,” and screened a new trailer for Sundance pickup “Leviticus.” Their intro reel also teased footage from Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord,” Takashi Miike’s “Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo,” Nicholas Winding Refn’s “Her Private Hell,” and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden.”
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Editor-at-Large Gregory Ellwood is one of the entertainment industry's most respected journalists and critics. Based in Los Angeles, he's the only current awards expert who previously worked on Oscar campaigns at a major movie studio. Over the years, he has written for the LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vox, among others. He also co-founded the entertainment news site HitFix, which spawned a legion of influential Emmy and WGA Award-winning alumni.
