With a penchant for the otherworldly, It Follows star Maika Monroe has landed the female lead in Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day (2) sequel.
Roland Emmerich is directing the project, which has a mix of old and new faces: Liam Hemsworth, Charlotte Gainsbourg andJessie Usher are joining the cast, while Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman and Judd Hirsch are reprising their roles from the 1994 original.
If a deal goes through, Monroe will play the daughter of the president of the United States, played by Pullman. She also would be the love interest of Hemsworth’s character.
The role was highly sought-after and required several rounds of testing. Monroe beat out several other actresses for the part, including Lucy Boynton, Merritt Patterson, Gabriella Wilde and Britt Robertson.
David Robert Mitchell, the writer/director of new horror film, ‘It Follows’, reveals to us his views on the genre, the decision to cast up-and-coming starlet Maika Monroe, and how the premise is based on a childhood nightmare.
‘It Follows’ may be his debut in the genre, but Mitchell insists he’s always been a big admirer. “I’ve always liked horror ever since I was a kid. I love all kinds of films but I’ve definitely been a big horror fan all my life.”
The premise for the film — an entity that follows a chain of hapless teens around with sinister intent — has been with him from a very young age.
“The basic idea came from a recurring nightmare I had as a kid. I was being followed by a monster that would look like different people — strangers or people I knew – and it was always very slow, but always walking right towards me. I could always get away from it, but it was so disturbing that it was always coming for me.” Essentially, this is the concept behind ‘It Follows’, which is the Michigan-born filmmaker’s sophomore feature. However, the physical transference of this entity (the obvious subtext of this relentless nasty being an STD) is a new addition to his nightmare. “As an adult I thought it’d be fun to have it be passed through sex,” he says. “Physically and emotionally, so I put the ideas together.”
Yet it’s based on a degree of misfortune that ‘It Follows’ even exists today, rather than being a future project set for release a year or two down the line. “I wrote it in 2011 and really quick. When my other project wasn’t happening and we were struggling to find the money — I had intended to do this as my third film — we moved this up as we thought we may have more luck with a genre film and that people would be more willing to pay for it – and this was true!
Starring the fresh-faced Maika Monroe (‘The Guest’), her composed, yet soothing performance is perhaps what holds the film together at its core. “I genuinely believed her,” Mitchell says of his lead when he saw her in action. “There was vulnerability in her performance that made me worry for her, care for her and be concerned for her. There’s something very honest and believable.” And it’s true; Monroe does a fine job of portraying the girl next door type and fits into the horror genre well.
Jennifer Garner has signed on to star in The Tribes of Palos Verdes, the adaptation of Joy Nicholson‘s young adult novel that’s just been set up at Relativity.
Garner is attached to the project, while two buzzy rising stars, Maika Monroe (The Guest, Labor Day) and Tye Sheridan (Joe, Mud), are in final negotiations to star.
D.J. Caruso (I Am Number Four) is directing the film, which is set in the affluent beach community of Palos Verdes, Calif. The story, based on Nicholson’s 1998 debut novel, centers on two teenagers, Medina (Monroe) and Jim (Sheridan), who move to the beach town from Michigan with their parents. Their mother (Garner) teeters on the brink of a nervous breakdown while their father becomes a surgeon to the stars. Medina turns to surfing to escape her troubled home life.
Karen Croner (Admission, One True Thing) wrote the screenplay for the film, which is slated to go into production in February 2015. Robbie Brenner and Kevin McKeon will oversee the film on behalf of Relativity. While details are still being worked out, it’s likely that the project could be for Relativity’s new specialty division, R2 (R squared). As The Hollywood Reporter exclusively reported, Relativity is launching a new division in hopes of becoming a more prominent awards season contender.
Garner’s recent work includes Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; Men, Women & Children; and Dallas Buyers Club. She’s also wrapped work on Dan Fogelman’s Danny Collins opposite Al Pacino. She’s repped by WME, Management 360 and Sloane Offer.
Monroe’s notable recent work includes action-horror film The Guest opposite Dan Stevens, horror pic It Follows and Jason Reitman’s Labor Day. She’s also nabbed a pivotal role in the YA adaptation The Fifth Wave, which is currently shooting. She’s repped by WME, Luber Roklin Entertainment and Felker Toczek.