Annapurna Pictures and Vice will partner to produce “The Bad Batch” and have set Ana Lily Amirpour to direct, it was announced Tuesday.
The film is a dystopian love story set in a Texas wasteland, but specific plot details are currently being kept under wraps.
Annapurna’s Megan Ellison will produce alongside Vice’s Danny Gabai and Sina Sayyah. Annapurna’s Sammy Scher will be the executive overseeing the day-to-day development and production of the project while Vice’s Shane Smith and Eddy Moretti will Executive Produce.
“Ana Lily is a force of cinematic nature,” said Moretti in a statement. “She inhabits that special place where the pop sensibility of the movies meets the deep sensuality of film art. It’s a tricky thing to pull off – creating this kind of wildly entertaining visionary cinema – but Ana Lily is powerful, so she can pull it off. I’m thrilled and honored to help bring “The Bad Batch” to life with my friends at Annapurna. This is going to be a lot of fun.”
Justine Baddeley and Kim Davis-Wagner are currently casting the project.
Vice will contribute extensive in-house film marketing capabilities in the U.S. and select international territories. “The Bad Batch” also marks the first time Vice will be a producing partner alongside Annapurna, after first working on marketing for “Spring Breakers,” “The Gransmaster” and “Her” for Ellison’s banner.
Amirpour is best known for genre-bending Iranian vampire fairytale “A Home Walks Alone at Night,” which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.