Bird and Fish Tank director Andrea Arnold plans to make the long-discussed FBI thriller Featherwood, starring Scarlett Johansson, as her next movie.
Indie director Andrea Arnold returned to her home turf in Kent to shoot Bird, the acclaimed drama (starring Barry Keoghan) released last year. If all goes to plan, she could be heading back to the United States for her next film ā Featherwood, starring Scarlett Johansson.
In an interview with Screen Daily (via World Of Reel), Arnold reportedly said that, while a production date hasnāt been announced yet, sheās been on a location scouting tour in Texas.
Word of Featherwood ā and Johanssonās attachment ā first began to circulate last February. Itās based on the true-life story of Carol Blevins, the āpropertyā of a white supremacist gang member who became an FBI informant in a wide-ranging investigation in the 2000s. That investigation, in which Blevins became a key witness, saw 13 group members arrested at the end of a six-year operation.
Itās a story that first came to life thanks to a lengthy piece published by Dallas Morning News, and subsequently became a much talked-about movie script written by Ned Benson.
Johansson was first attached to the lead role of Blevins in a Deadline report last February; that Arnold has since done a bit of location hunting could suggest that the production is quietly moving forward.
Read more: Bird review | A magical drama that never quite takes flight
Assuming it happens, Featherwood will come moderately warm on the heels of The Order ā another true-crime thriller about an FBI investigation into a white supremacist group. Directed by Justin Kurzel, that film provided showcases for Jude Law, in the role of a fictionalised FBI agent Terry Husk, and Nicholas Hoult, whoās chillingly charismatic as domestic terrorist and group leader Bob Matthews.
Featherwood (again, assuming it happens) will be Arnoldās sixth feature film, and her second shot in the US. The 2016 drama American Honey, which she wrote and directed, was one of the most acclaimed movies of that year.
More on Featherwood as we get it.