Per Deadline, Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn is returning to Los Angeles to make a female-driven horror film called The Neon Demon, which is a super cheesy and super awesome name for a movie. Wild Bunch and Gaumont will finance and distribute the film, because they seem to really like working with Refn. They financed Only God Forgives, which had a pretty rocky reception, but they’re back for more. Forgives must have made a bit of money, which is a nice thought, especially when you consider how strange that movie is.
The Neon Demon will be co-written by Refn and newcomer Mary Laws, scored by Cliff Martinez (YES!!), edited by Matthew Newman, and shot by Philippe Le Sourd (who shot Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster). I t’s shooting in a few short months, but we’ll most likely see it in 2016.
Refn is one of my favorite filmmakers working today, and I’m really pleased that he’s finally going full-on horror. If he can match the neon-drenched dread of Only God Forgives, that’ll be a feat. Sign me up, please.