After years of perfecting her craft in front of the camera, starring in beloved series like Big Little Lies and High Fidelity and action films like Divergent and The Batman, Zoë Kravitz has stepped behind the lens to direct her first feature, Blink Twice. The psychological thriller first made headlines for its provocative original name—Pussy Island, though that title has since been changed (to be fair, “Pussy Island” makes for tough SEO).
Penned by Kravitz and High Fidelity writer E.T. Feigenbaum, the film stars Kravitz’s now-fiancé Channing Tatum (the project brought them together in the first place) and is due out this summer. Here’s everything to know about Blink Twice:
What’s the plot of Blink Twice?
Blink Twice follows tech billionaire Slater King (Tatum), who invites cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) to his private island. As the “dream” vacation unfolds, strange and terrifying things start to happen, and Frida is forced to question her perception of reality.
“I started writing it pre-#MeToo, pre-Harvey [Weinstein],” Kravitz previously told Elle. “Then the world started to have the conversation, so [the script] changed a lot. It became more about a power struggle and what that power struggle means. I rewrote it a million times. Now we’re like, ‘Holy shit. We’re doing this!’”
The script “was born out of a lot of anger and frustration around the lack of conversation about the treatment of women, specifically in industries that have a lot of money in them, like Hollywood, the tech world, all of that,” Kravitz said at the time. Even before Epstein’s infamous island became common knowledge, she had been hearing stories about powerful men inviting women to remote islands to partake in hedonistic vacations that didn’t always turn out well.
Who else is in the cast of Blink Twice?
In addition to Tatum and Ackie, the film’s cast includes Alia Shawkat, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Christian Slater, Kyle MacLachlan, and Geena Davis.
Is there a trailer for Blink Twice?
An extended trailer for Blink Twice dropped on August 1, and the clip is filled with surreal suspense. The charming King (Tatum) introduces Frida (Ackie) and Jess (Shawkat) to his cadre of high-rolling friends before inviting them for a weekend getaway on his private island. The women can’t believe their luck as they get acquainted with their luxurious new surroundings, but things take a disturbing turn once everyone is asked to hand over their phones. “So do you think the human sacrifice is before or after dinner?” Jess jokes, but then things actually do get dark and scary. As days and nights of partying meld into each other, Frida and Jess start to lose their memories and sense of reality until Jess disappears altogether. Frida is left questioning her sanity as she tries to escape.
Why did the title change from Pussy Island?
Kravitz initially told the WSJ that she would not change the difficult-to-promote name, though she’s since budged, likely due to making the film more marketable to a wider audience.
She said that the original title “represent[ed] this time where it would be acceptable for a group of men to call a place that, and the illusion that we’re out of that time now,” adding, “people are evolving and changing but there is still a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths from past behavior. It’s a nod to that, but it’s also playful, and a really playful film in a lot of ways.”
When is the Blink Twice release date?
Blink Twice will receive a theatrical release from Amazon MGM Studios on August 23, 2024.
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