Kathryn Bigelow was set to direct Aurora for Netflix, but that film got scrapped: now, though, she’s got another one.
Since Dan Lin was appointed as Netflix’s new film boss, we’ve all been waiting to see what kind of movies would be getting the green light at the Silicon Valley streaming outfit.
As of today, we have the very beginnings of an answer. Along with Happy Gilmore 2 – a sequel to Adam Sandler’s beloved 1996 comedy – it has also been announced that Kathryn Bigelow will be directing an as yet untitled thriller for the company.
Not much in the way of news has been released about the project but thanks to The Hollywood Reporter we do know this: the film will be focused ‘on a group of White House officials scrambling to deal with an incoming missile attack on the U.S. Sources say the story will be told in real time and that its tone harkens back to Bigelow’s foreboding 2012 hit Zero Dark Thirty, which chronicled the hunt for Osama bin Laden and the Navy Seal mission to kill the terror leader.’
This is especially welcome news for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we haven’t seen Bigelow direct a film since 2017’s superb Detroit. She’s the first female director to win the Oscar for Best Director (for The Hurt Locker in 2010) and boasts an incredible filmography yet for whatever reason, it’s been seven years and counting since she directed a film. It’s long past time we saw Bigelow back in the director’s chair.
Secondly, at some unspecified point in the past, Netflix developed and then scrapped Aurora, a Bigelow project that was based around a mother and daughter story set against the backdrop of a solar storm that knocks out power across most of the Earth. While the company has become much more cost conscious in recent years, it was a shame to see that project go by the wayside but it’s good to see that Netflix has found an avenue to continue its relationship with Bigelow.
According to the report, this new project was in development at Netflix before Dan Lin took over the reins of the film division. When that happened, Bigelow was requested to bring down the size and the cost of the production. She duly did and the film now has an official green light.
While it’s early days yet, this seems like a win for all involved and if part of Netflix’s film strategy moving forwards is to build relationships with prestigious filmmakers, give them a modest sum and let them be creative, we’re here for that. We’ll bring you more on this one as we hear it.
