Seven years ago, on a break from filming Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald in London, Zoë Kravitz opened her laptop and wrote down two words: “Pussy Island”.
“I’d recently been somewhere where there was a party taking place just across from me, and in the middle of all these women with champagne and sparklers, I was drawn to this one woman who had such an interesting face and energy”, the actress-turned-director told Zavvi.
“I was wondering what her story was, and it lodged in my mind at the same time when I was reflecting on a lot of things in my own life and my friend’s lives, and having a lot of rage and confusion, desperately needing an outlet to channel that into. So, I just started writing, which was a fascinating process, because it often felt like I wasn’t even consciously writing, things were just flowing out.
“All of a sudden, I had created characters and isolated them on an island, forcing them to deal with their problems instead of just ignoring them. It was a stream of consciousness storytelling process which, seven years later, became this film!”
Now titled Blink Twice – although Kravitz did fight to try and maintain the title Pussy Island – Kravitz’ debut is a deeply ambitious satirical thriller taking aim at systemic misogyny, the 1%, and celebrities who refuse to take accountability for their actions. Naomi Ackie stars as Frida, a waitress brought into the inner circle of tech mogul Slater King (Channing Tatum), who whisks her and best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) away to his private island for a hedonistic getaway.
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Based on that set-up, you’ll already know that there’s something sinister happening in the background, but how Kravitz and co-writer E.T. Feigenbaum use it to explore the various hot-topic themes is something I’ll leave you to discover for yourself. One thing Kravitz is upfront about is that it wouldn’t work nearly as well without Tatum as her antagonist, having written the role specifically for him before the pair had even met – now, it’s arriving in cinemas after they’ve gotten engaged, which only makes her decision to cast him as a villain even more fascinating.
She explained: “I wanted Slater King to be somebody that the audience felt comfortable and safe with, whilst also ensuring it would make sense that Frida would want to drop everything and leave with him. And if you’re going to leave with a stranger, you have to make that connection feel real, so the audience never questions why.
“When writing, I knew I needed to weaponise the Channing charm for that to work. But as a fellow actor, I was excited by the idea of him being cast against type this way; he was somebody I knew was an incredible talent, and I was hungry to see him cast in a light I’d never seen him before.
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“I want to lull people into a false sense of security and make them think “well, it’s Channing Tatum, we’re going to be fine!””
Kravitz doesn’t appear in front of the camera here, but when she first sat down to write, her initial assumption was that this would be a starring role.
“In the earlier stages, I was automatically putting myself in that role as I was visualising the story, if only because I’m an actor and I was writing from my perspective. But the more I wrote, and the more it became clear we could get this made, I knew right away I didn’t want to act in it.
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“It was liberating to make that decision, as I could finally separate myself from Frida and write a much more interesting and dynamic character because she wasn’t attached to me, I had more freedom to bring her to life.
“When I met Naomi, I was just so blown away by her intelligence and range. Her face is so expressive, and it really carries the film in an incredible way.”
When Kravitz sent Tatum the first draft several years ago, he initially turned it down, and she had equal difficulty getting studios to take notice – even A24, the go-to destination for weirdo high-concept horror, passed on it. The screenplay has been rewritten several times over since then, but Kravitz believes this learning curve is an important one for any first-time director.
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“The whole thing was a challenge, especially as a first-time director, and especially because the film is based on an original idea. It’s scary to have to convince people of a vision that’s just an invisible thing you can only see in your mind, and encourage them to follow you through the fire to make it.
“This movie has a wild tone that goes back and forth between genres in a way I know a lot of people will find strange, but it made sense to me. And that’s the biggest lesson I learnt; you must constantly remind yourself that it makes sense, and that it works, and I never stopped feeling that this was truthful to my experience.”
Going forward, Kravitz has said that she’ll now only take acting jobs from directors who she believes she can learn from as a filmmaker. Next on the docket is the Darren Aronofsky thriller Caught Stealing, and she is expected – although not yet confirmed – to reappear as Selina Kyle in the long-awaited sequel to The Batman.
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Matt Reeves is one of several directors Kravitz has collaborated with that she has singled out as influences, alongside her Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller. Observing the way they work was the best film school for the actress (“it was better than asking for advice, which always comes across a little bit too fluffy!”), which left me wondering – is she going to follow in their footsteps and direct a blockbuster of her own next?
“I’m a story driven person, so filmmaking for me is about what elevates that story. Having a lot more money would be great, but I think there’s something beautiful about having to be really specific about your vision because you don’t have that.
“I have no idea what I’ll make next – I’m still processing this journey, and I’m open to whatever comes my way”.
Blink Twice is released in UK cinemas on Friday, 23rd August.
