Fresh from her triumphant directorial debut with Past Lives, Celine Song is not resting on past laurels either. The 35-year-old South Korean-Canadian director is reportedly working on a new film for A24.
Titled The Materialists, the romcom-in-progress was inspired by James L. Brooks’s 1980s films Broadcast News and Terms of Endearment.
In a recent interview with GQ, Song and producer Christine Vachon revealed few details about the new project other than to suggest that “The Materialists” would be quite unlike “Past Lives.” Vachon was quoted as saying that “It feels like she makes a different movie every time, that she’s going to be the kind of a filmmaker who doesn’t make the same movie twice.”
In an article for World of Reel on Tuesday of this week, Jordan Ruimy offered this synopsis of “The Materialists: “Set against the vibrant backdrop of New York City, a city that never sleeps and is known for its diverse and dynamic relationships, ‘Materialists’ provides a unique glimpse into the lives of the city’s elite. Lucy’s expertise in matchmaking is highly sought after by those willing to pay a premium for her services.
However, the film hints at complications that arise, leading to a toxic love triangle that threatens to unravel the lives of all involved.”
Production of Song’s new film will get underway early in 2024 with a possible release by the end of the year, sources say. No information has been released about the identity of the actors who will be joining the cast.
“Past Lives” made its debut at Sundance earlier this year and had its theatrical release in June. Song had been a playwright in her own past life. Her drama “11“ had its premiere in 2019 at the American Repertory Theater and opened off-Broadway the following year at New York Theatre Workshop, a run cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. She also directed The Seagull on the Sims 4 in November of 2020 on the streaming platform Twitch.
Song also served as one of the staff writers for the first season of Amazon’s “The Wheel of Time” fantasy series.
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