A new horror movie has been drawing comparisons with Backrooms and Obsession. As the movie gets ready for its film festival premiere, the creator recently revealed that J.K. Simmons was reportedly rejected for a role in the flick.
The upcoming horror film Godmother by Alanah Pearce and Sean McLoughlin was on a very different path at first. Investors and some traditional studios wanted the filmmakers to cast a popular Hollywood actor to reduce the financial risk. One studio even specified that Spider-Man fame J.K. Simmons be cast in a prominent role.
However, co-creator and producer Pearce did not approve the idea. Pearce pointed out that such a change could have impacted the filmmakers’ original vision during an interview with The Wrap.
Reflecting on the film, Pearce said, “A lot of what I put into the script is specific to bringing in a female perspective to what was already a very female-led story. Our three leading women are vastly different people, and how these women are perceived — and judged — by the world accordingly was a big focus for me: Who is discarded, who is rewarded, who is respected, and why.”
Alanah Pearce feared studio demands would turn Godmother into a different movie
During her interview with The Wrap, Pearce rejected the idea of including the 60-year-old veteran actor as she feared it would have changed the course of the movie.
“When we initially tried to get funding for Godmother, we had numerous conversations with more traditional studios and financiers. Most of them required us to attach A-list actors in order to mitigate financial risk — one company even specified that we cast J.K. Simmons in Bruce Davison’s role, which would have made it a completely different movie from the one on the page,” Pearce stated.
Owing to this, YouTuber Sean McLoughlin, aka Jacksepticeye, and the Australian video game writer decided to move forward with their idea independently. McLoughlin handled the financing around the main filming while Helmstreet Pictures funded the post-production.
The synopsis of the upcoming independent horror film, per IMDb, reads, “Theo and her boyfriend Colby travel to the High Desert for a romantic weekend. Their plans are disrupted by two seemingly friendly retirees, who have sinister intentions for Theo.”
John Veron serves as the director for Godmother, while Veron co-wrote the story alongside Alanah Pearce. Pearce’s Charred Pictures is the producer for the horror film, while Jacksepticeye joined in as the executive producer. The cast features Dee Wallace, Bruce Davidson, Khary Payton, Riley Dandy, Cameron Cuffe, Paige Evans, Carl Savering, and Madelynn Joy Stuenkel. A release date for the movie has not been revealed.
