Naomi Watts on Her Grueling Thriller ‘Lakewood’: ‘It Scared the Shit Out of Me’

Quentin Tarantino has claimed in several interviews that Westerns, more than any other genre, reflect the “values and problems” of the era in which they were made. If that’s true, audiences are in for a vivid temperature check with “The Harder They Fall,” an upcoming neo-Western from Netflix.

Quentin Tarantino has claimed in several interviews that Westerns, more than any other genre, reflect the “values and problems” of the era in which they were made. If that’s true, audiences are in for a vivid temperature check with “The Harder They Fall,” an upcoming neo-Western from Netflix.

In the film, Watts plays Amy Carr, a woman racing against time to save her child Noah (Colton Gobbo) as authorities place her small town on lockdown due to an active shooter incident. Noyce directed the film from a script by Chris Sparling, who produced with David Bois, Andrew Corkin, Alex Lalonde, Chris Parker, Zack Schiller and Dylan Sellers.

In the film, Watts plays Amy Carr, a woman racing against time to save her child Noah (Colton Gobbo) as authorities place her small town on lockdown due to an active shooter incident. Noyce directed the film from a script by Chris Sparling, who also produced with David Bois, Andrew Corkin, Alex Lalonde, Chris Parker, Zack Schiller, and Dylan Sellers.

EXCLUSIVE:  One of the few titles up for sale at TIFF this year was Phillip Noyce’s thriller Lakewood starring Naomi Watts, and Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions have landed North American rights to the the female-driven thriller.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaStart your engines.Hollywood players are falling over themselves in the hopes of landing a new movie package featuring the “Ocean’s 11” team of George Clooney and Brad Pitt, who will reunite under the watchful eye of “Spider-Man: Homecoming” director Jon Watts.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaHank Azaria has joined the cast of writer and director Neil LaBute’s upcoming feature “Out of the Blue.” The dramatic thriller, which also stars Diane Kruger and Ray Nicholson, will wrap principal photography this week in Rhode Island.Here’s the official description: “Out of the Blue” is a contemporary tale of passion, deceit, and violence.

The Rolling Stones returned to the stage for their first concert in more than two years, marking the first time the band has performed without drummer Charlie Watts, who died last month at age 80.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaSaban Films is getting in the Nicolas Cage business.The studio has acquired “Butcher’s Crossing,” a frontier epic that stars the off-beat, Oscar winner as a buffalo hunter. The deal covers rights in North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavia.Gabe Polsky, who directed the documentary “Red Penguins,” slides behind the camera on this one.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaOwen Teague had spent eight months in quarantine with his parents, sitting out the pandemic in Florida when the script arrived for “Montana Story.” The searing family drama was one of Teague’s first chances to anchor a film, and he leapt at the opportunity.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNitehawk Cinema is expanding its programming team.The chain, which has branches in Williamsburg and Prospect Park, in Brooklyn, N.Y., has hired Cristina Cacioppo and Desmond Thorne to augment its programming staff.

Shot in rural northern Ontario during the pandemic, “Lakewood” follows Watts as a mother who risks her life to save her child after her small town is placed on lockdown over a school shooting. Much of the film shows Watts running through forest roads to get to the school, which Noyce says became very physically grueling for her.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaJaime King, Antonio Banderas and Tommy Flanagan have joined the cast of “Banshee,” an action film from director Jon Keeyes.The film follows a freelance assassin, codenamed Banshee (King), who is ambushed by Anthony Greene (Flanagan), a powerful mercenary who killed her father, and who is now seeking to collect a bounty on Caleb (Banderas), her former black ops mentor.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaDianne Doan has joined the cast of “Reunion.”The film centers on a murder that takes place during a high school reunion party and has already attracted a cast of comedy heavyweights and in-demand actors. Doan will appear alongside Lil Rel Howery, Billy Magnussen, Jillian Bell, Nina Dobrev, Jamie Chung, Michael Hitchcock and Chace Crawford.

Naomi Watts is opening up about her next project with Ryan Murphy.

Ryan Murphy, exec producer of TV hits ranging from “Glee” to “American Horror Story” to “Pose”, has a new show in the works that promises to bring fresh frights to the small screen.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine will say goodbye after the NBC comedy wraps on Thursday night with an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers. The one-hour series finale titled, “The Last Day,” airs at 8 p.m. ET/PT followed by the Late Night appearance early Friday morning at 12:35 a.m.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film CriticIn “Lakewood,” Naomi Watts plays Amy Carr, who starts out in the late afternoon jogging through an upscale wooded suburb, mourning her husband’s death in a car crash the year before. The film tells the story of a woman and her partner, her significant other, the second self she can’t live without.