Jeff Nichols’ “King Snake” has found its home.
Neon, the Academy Award-winning studio that steered “Parasite” and “Anora” to Oscar gold and found hits with “The Monkey” and “Longlegs,” has acquired the U.S. rights to the forthcoming film from Nichols, the director of “Mud,” “Midnight Special” and most recently “The Bikeriders.”
FilmNation Entertainment financed the movie, which stars Margaret Qualley and Michael Shannon, Nichols’ constant creative collaborator, along with Drew Starkey. It will be produced by Nichols and his Tri-State Pictures partners Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Sarah Green, in association with Range Media Partners. FilmNation’s Stacey Snider and Glen Basner serve as executive producers.
The deal was negotiated by Neon and FilmNation Entertainment in cooperation with Range Media Partners on behalf of the filmmakers. Neon will release the film theatrically in the U.S. nationwide.
Principal photography started this month in Arkansas.
Described as a Southern Gothic horror movie, “King Snake” “follows a young couple (Qualley and Starkey) who inherit an Arkansas farm where they face real-world problems and supernatural forces, battling physical and metaphysical demons while confronting the property’s dark legacy,” according to the official synopsis.
The “King Snake” news comes ahead of the Cannes Film Festival, where the diversity and breadth of Neon’s slate really shines through. Neon’s films in competition include James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” Arthur Harari’s “The Unknown,” Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden,” Hirokazu Koreeda’s “Sheep in the Box” and Na Hong-Jin’s “Hope.” In Directors’ Fortnight: Arie Esiri & Chuko Esiri’s “Clarissa,” a modern reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” and David Greaves’ Sundance hit “Once Upon a Time in Harlem.”
Rounding out the slate, Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Her Private Hell,” his first feature since “The Neon Demon” (released 10 years ago!), screens out of competition.
Since Nichols’ 2007 debut “Shotgun Stories,” he has been one of the most exciting American filmmakers working in the industry, taking on diverse subject matters and genres but staying true to his love of character and his interest in the American experience (for all its good and bad). “Take Shelter” is an apocalyptic drama, “Mud” is a sprawling Southern folktale, “Midnight Special” grounds science fiction in an American road movie, “Loving” is a based-on-a-true-story romance and “The Bikeriders” captures the elusive spirit of a time gone by.
