‘47 Meters Down’ Filmmaker Johannes Roberts To Direct Horror ‘The Not Polly’, Jade Pettyjohn Starring — AFM

EXCLUSIVE: Going into the AFM, Bankside Movies is launching worldwide gross sales on horror The Not Polly, which can be directed by 47 Meters Down filmmaker Johannes Roberts.

Bankside and Roberts are teaming on the movie with Japanese producer and music trade government Yasushi Akimoto who originated the movie’s story. Manufacturing is scheduled for the top of this yr in Kentucky.

Little Fires All over the place and Destroyer actress Jade Pettyjohn is about to star within the film as Polly, the most well-liked and most stunning lady in class, who wakes up after a celebration to seek out that she is trapped in a morgue, apparently lifeless, with no reflection, no pulse and no heartbeat. To make issues worse, she has been possessed.

James Harris (47 Meters Down) of Tea Store Productions is producing alongside Sean DeMott (The Free Fall).  Riki Melwani (Crows Blood) and Eiko Matsumoto from Akimoto Studios can even be producing. CAA Media Finance is repping North American rights.

Multi-hyphenate Akimoto, one in all Japan’s most prolific movie and TV producers, lately partnered with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook Inc to develop his novel The Elephant’s Again for a world viewers and We Can’t Work Collectively as a world TV collection.

Pettyjohn can also be recognized for collection together with ABC’s Massive Sky and HBO’s The Righteous Gem stones. She lately wrapped manufacturing on the super-natural thriller film Burnouts.  

Roberts is finest recognized for steering underwater thriller 47 Meters Down which took greater than $60M on the field workplace towards a finances reportedly lower than $5M. The movie was succeeded by 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, launched in theaters in 2019 and the franchise has now grossed greater than $100M worldwide. Roberts additionally wrote and directed the Alexandre Aja-produced ghost story The Different Aspect of the Door in addition to Strangers – Prey at Night time starring Christina Hendrix. In 2021 he wrote and directed Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon Metropolis, a reboot of the franchise. Roberts is at present growing Flight at Paramount Photos with Weed Highway and James Harris producing. He directed a phase of the upcoming V/H/S/99, which is premiered at this yr’s TIFF.

Johannes Roberts mentioned: “I’m so excited to be working with Bankside and the entire workforce on this undertaking as they really get my twisted imaginative and prescient! I can’t look forward to an viewers to expertise this darkly comedian but terrifying movie.”

Yasushi Akimoto added: “It began from an concept. What if one of many our bodies on the morgue awoke and began looking for the reality. I wished to make this idea right into a horror film. I’m already very excited figuring out Johannes Roberts of 47 Meters Down can be directing my authentic story.”

Stephen Kelliher of Bankside Movies mentioned: “The Not Polly is a totally authentic and massively entertaining tackle a horror story which audiences are going to have lot of enjoyable with. Johannes who has confirmed repeatedly that he is aware of how you can join with broad audiences on the worldwide field workplace and The Not Polly is about to be his subsequent huge hit.”