Movies
‘The Strangers’ Director Turns Camera On ‘Mockingbird’ Trio
Todd Stashwick (“Justified,” “Heroes”), Audrey Marie Anderson, and Alexa Lydon (pictured) has been set to star in Mockingbird, the Blumhouse thriller being made by Universal with The Strangers director Bryan Bertino at the helm, THR reports.
The project falls under the micro-budget film label run by Jason Blum; the production banner has a first look deal with Universal. Blum is producing with Adrienne Biddle, Marc Platt, Adam Siegel and Bryan Bertino. Bertino is directing the movie, which will begin shooting April in Los Angeles.
The project, formerly known as “Red Balloons,” tells the story a couple, who are given a camera and a set of instructions. They must carry out what’s on the document or someone will die. Stashwick will play the husband, Anderson his wife. Lydon’s part is unknown.
An earlier synopsis Bloody got their hands on went like so: “Found footage thriller centering on three cameras that are given to three separate households on the same night with instructions to keep filming if they want to live, but as the night wears on, the characters are pulled into a deadly confrontation with each other at the behest of their unseen tormentor.”
It’s now been seven years since the release of Blumhouse’s Ma starring Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, with talks of a sequel dating back to last year. Last we heard, Emmy-winner Ashley Nicole Black (“Shrinking,” “Ted Lasso”) would be writing the screenplay for Ma 2, and Octavia Spencer provides an update in a new chat with Entertainment Tonight.
“We are working hard on getting a great script out. Blumhouse is the best at what they do. It’s going to be chock-full of surprises,” Octavia Spencer tells the outlet in a fresh update.
“Ma has proven to be a social phenomenon since its release in 2019, with fans eagerly embracing the film and Octavia’s iconic performance as Ma. Ma likes to say ‘Don’t make me drink alone,’ so we’re thrilled Octavia will join us again for a second round,” Blumhouse Founder/CEO Jason Blum had teased when the sequel was originally announced last Summer.
Spencer plays Sue Ann in Ma, a loner who keeps to herself in her quiet Ohio town. One day, she is asked by Maggie, a new teenager in town, to buy some booze for her and her friends, and Sue Ann sees the chance to make some unsuspecting, if younger, friends of her own.
While no director has been announced as of yet, Tate Taylor helmed the 2019 original from a script by Scotty Landes. Taylor previously detailed that Sue Ann’s fate was intentionally ambiguous, so the door was open for a return in a possible sequel. That Ma earned more than $60 million at the box office meant a sequel was practically inevitable. It also doesn’t hurt that the character popped on social media, becoming something of a viral meme sensation.
Stay tuned for more on Ma 2 as we learn it.