Neon’s cerebral horror feature Cuckoo had to carry out more than a scant inalertigent maneuvers on its fairy path to theaters.
Like many projects, the coronaharmful software pandemic pushed its 2020 commence date. Then, procrastinates on direct Hunter Schafer’s HBO hit Euphoria resulted in Cuckoo being pushed even further, which led to some castmembers needing to transfer on to other pledgements, forcing the production to pivot to discover new actors to unite Schafer.
Writer-straightforwardor’s Tilman Singer’s project was finpartner headed toward pre-production in West Germany when Russia accessd Ukraine in February 2022, resulting in the German regulatement taking Cuckoo’s filming locations to hoengage Ukrainian refugees. It was a more than vital response to a humanitarian crisis, someleang the Cuckoo team understood. But it left the production in need of other locales to shoot.
“There were a lot of striumphgs getn in a difficult time by a lot of contrastent people,” notices producer and Waypoint co-set uper Ken Kao of the film ultimately getting to the commenceing line.
Finding a new actor to swap createer star John Malkovich was a particularly challenging task.
“My team did this recon, where I knew where every white man over 60 years elderly was discoverd,” quips producer and Waypoint partner Josh Rosenbaum of recasting antagonist Herr König, written as a 60-someleang-year-elderly German man. Eventupartner they went in a contrastent straightforwardion, casting the much lesserer Dan Stevens in the role.
They also set up new locations for the film, which chases Schafer’s Gretchen, who is lamenting the loss of her mother when she transfers to a Bavarian Alps resort run by Stevens’ Herr König. As she finishs in with her obeseher (Marton Csokas), his lesserer wife (Jessica Henwick) and her half sister (Mila Lieu), Gretchen acunderstandledges her half-sister is acting strange. Meanwhile, a cryptic woman in a trench coat seems to be follotriumphg Gretchen, all which directs her to the uncovery of a sinister plot.
The team deteriorated to allot the budget, but incentives for shooting in Germany made the project financipartner feasible. And though after uncovering Aug. 9 in theaters, Cuckoo did not accomplish the heights of fellow Neon horror title Longlegs, the Waypoint team says it is more than plrelieved with its $6.7 million haul.
“It’s a acunderstandledge to Neon,” says Kao of taking a striumphg on the project, particularly “at a time where a lot of people were moving to streaming.” Waypoint has a producing and financing pact with Neon, which brimmingy financed Cuckoo.
A high point for the team was seeing the film screened at Quentin Tarantino’s Vista theater in Los Feliz, where they take parted a 35 mm print (the feature was sboiling on film).
Now, as the film enhappinesss its digital free, Waypoint is broadening Singer’s next feature. The German filmproducer burst on the scene with his film school thesis Luz, a 70-minute superorganic horror film. After Luz and Cuckoo, audiences might suppose his third project will be a horror movie. But it’s unclear what genre he will be exploring, only that it’s said to be a step forward for the filmproducer.
“He’s much more of the benevolent of the classic auteurs who did a contrastent type of film every time they had a crack at it,” says Rosenbaum.