The 355 (2022)

edited November 2020 in General Movies & TV Posts: 3,164
Worth creating a new thread for this - very awesome-sounding idea.

‘355’: Jessica Chastain, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Fan Bingbing, Lupita Nyong’o Form Spy Sisterhood
http://deadline.com/2018/05/female-spy-film-355-jessica-chastain-marion-cotillard-penelope-cruz-fan-bingbing-lupita-nyongo-simon-kinberg-cannes-market-1202380078/
Hard to imagine there will be a hotter film package unveiled at Cannes next week than 355, a large-scale espionage film that Simon Kinberg will direct with an all-star international spy cast of Jessica Chastain, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Fan Bingbing and Lupita Nyong’o. They’ll play international agents in a grounded, edgy action thriller that aims to alter a male-dominated genre with a true female ensemble, in the style of spy franchises The Bourne Identity, Mission: Impossible and James Bond. The script is by Theresa Rebeck. The hope is to launch a franchise.

Kinberg just directed and Chastain starred in X-Men: Dark Phoenix. The idea for 355 came from Chastain, and she pitched it to him while they worked on that superhero film on which Kinberg made his feature directing debut. It didn’t take long for Chastain to get commitments from the filmmaker, and the actresses.

“I had so much fun working on The Help that I always wanted to do another female ensemble film,” Chastain told Deadline. “I love the Bourne movies, the Mission: Impossible films, and wondered why, except for Charlie’s Angels, there hadn’t been a true female ensemble action-thriller spy film. That got my wheels going, along with the idea of casting actresses from all over the world to truly make it an international project. I realized the incredible creative freedom we would have with that. I brought the idea to Simon, told him about the actresses I was thinking of, and he was so sweet. He said, ‘I want to do it with you.’

“Then I called all the women, told them what I was envisioning and that I wanted it to be a collaborative process, and how we would all create this together,” Chastain said. “The one thing that felt important is that we all show up at Cannes, because that would be the beginning of our journey together. Every single actress I called said yes, on the phone call. They committed to Cannes and to everything. So far it has been a very wonderfully easy process.”

The film involves these top agents from organizations around the world uniting to stop a global organization from acquiring a weapon that could plunge an already unstable world into total chaos. They have to overcome cultural and political differences to form a bond and work together.

“What we can say is, they come up against an organization larger than the established spy organizations we’ve known up to this point,” said Kinberg, long the creative spine of the X-Men franchise and who’s separately writing and producing a Star Wars film. “We are hoping to create a franchise with this, and the first film will be the agents coming together.”....

...The other thing that was important was to broaden the opportunities and expectations for women in this #MeToo moment, something that means a great deal to Chastain and her co-stars.

“The action genre has long been dominated by male heroes, and it’s so exciting to be part of a film that will allow for not just one female action hero but a whole ensemble of very capable, fierce female characters that reject tired stereotypes,” she said. “Characters that liberate from the confines of stereotypical traits. That is something that excited me about this, the opportunity to create different types of female heroes.”

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Comments

  • PropertyOfALadyPropertyOfALady Colders Federation CEO
    Posts: 3,675
    Huh. Sounds interesting. One to keep an eye on as stories develop.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117

    'The film involves these top agents from organizations around the world uniting to stop a global organization from acquiring a weapon that could plunge an already unstable world into total chaos. They have to overcome cultural and political differences to form a bond and work together.'
    As Pierce once said 'How original.'

    Is this formulaic rubbish being greenlit because it is a genuinely fresh and innovative story? Or is there another reason (which I feel is staring us all in the face but I can't quite put my finger on...) why studio execs think this is a goer?

    Try pitching the same idea but replacing the agents with men and see if you make it through security at any major studio. Who needs a script when you have a cast entirely made up of women?

    By all means make spy films with strong female roles but at least come up with something interesting; I really enjoyed Atomic Blonde and Red Sparrow but this sounds like something P&W knocked up in their lunch hour.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    'The film involves these top agents from organizations around the world uniting to stop a global organization from acquiring a weapon that could plunge an already unstable world into total chaos. They have to overcome cultural and political differences to form a bond and work together.'
    As Pierce once said 'How original.'

    Is this formulaic rubbish being greenlit because it is a genuinely fresh and innovative story? Or is there another reason (which I feel is staring us all in the face but I can't quite put my finger on...) why studio execs think this is a goer?

    Try pitching the same idea but replacing the agents with men and see if you make it through security at any major studio. Who needs a script when you have a cast entirely made up of women?

    By all means make spy films with strong female roles but at least come up with something interesting; I really enjoyed Atomic Blonde and Red Sparrow but this sounds like something P&W knocked up in their lunch hour.
    You certainly beat me to it, Wiz.
  • BMW_with_missilesBMW_with_missiles All the usual refinements.
    Posts: 3,000
    Another political statement masquerading as a film. This is Ghostbusters 2016 in spy flavor.
  • Posts: 5,774
    Well, Ghostbusters 2016 was a good movie. At least, I liked it.
  • Posts: 3,164
    Of course the main attraction here is the cast rather than anything else. Think 'The Expendables'...it's the sort of project where it doesn't matter if the story is cliched and not as groundbreaking as it could be, the prospect of seeing some of the world's top actresses in an ensemble like this is a big deal.
    Try pitching the same idea but replacing the agents with men and see if you make it through security at any major studio. Who needs a script when you have a cast entirely made up of women?

    If you had an all-male cast of that caliber, probably, although odds are lower than here as the market and the world in general from a social POV is crying out for a female-led ensemble action project like this.
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    Posts: 7,567
    And when this crashes and burns everyone will hesitate, ponder for a moment and start yelling 'I KNOW! WHAT ABOUT A FEMALE JAMES BOND?'
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    I can't wait for the thrillingly inventive sequel where there is a team of all black agents.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited May 2018 Posts: 23,883
    This quote from Chastain is quite revealing:

    I had so much fun working on The Help that I always wanted to do another female ensemble film,” Chastain told Deadline. “I love the Bourne movies, the Mission: Impossible films, and wondered why, except for Charlie’s Angels, there hadn’t been a true female ensemble action-thriller spy film.

    She seems to have forgotten the one that begat them all. I love you Jessica but that's an unacceptable oversight on your part if I may say so.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited May 2018 Posts: 15,423
    Well, as a flaming feminist herself, it won't surprise me if she'd openly state how much she hates and despises the James Bond franchise. So, I wouldn't care if she never gets close to the series, as beautiful a woman and magnificent an actress she is. As for this 355 project, I'll do the same as Birdleson: Watch the inside of my eyelids instead.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    I wish I could do the same, but the prospect of Chastain, Cotillard and Cruz (all possible Bond 'girls') in my favourite genre may be too enticing for me to pass up on. It's certainly more tempting for me than Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon in the upcoming The Spy Who Dumped Me or McCarthy in Spy.
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,586
    bondjames wrote: »
    This quote from Chastain is quite revealing:

    I had so much fun working on The Help that I always wanted to do another female ensemble film,” Chastain told Deadline. “I love the Bourne movies, the Mission: Impossible films, and wondered why, except for Charlie’s Angels, there hadn’t been a true female ensemble action-thriller spy film.

    She seems to have forgotten the one that begat them all. I love you Jessica but that's an unacceptable oversight on your part if I may say so.
    Which one? It seems to have slipped by me as well.
  • Posts: 5,774
    Well, way back in the 70s, there were a lot of female heroines in martial arts movies, and they were as able to "kick names and take ass" as their male counterparts. I think that this project could be the Fourteen Amazons of the spy genre.

    You know, even if I think that sometimes political correctness can go too far ("cultural appropriation", whatever that may mean), reading some commenhts on this and other forums, I also think that anti-political correctness can go too far as well.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    I'm not against female heroines at all. As long as they don't do it for the sake of feminism, I'm all for it. The 2010-2014 TV series adaptation of Luc Besson's film, Nikita was female-led with strong heroines in the lead, it ended up being my second all-time favourite spy show after Danger Man.

    It's just that... we, men, don't brag about the all-male cast whenever we make something, so it'd be better if the opposite gender of the species drops it as well and make a film for its story, not for the ideology. And yes, I love Charlie's Angels, too. Not the films, though.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    jake24 wrote: »
    bondjames wrote: »
    This quote from Chastain is quite revealing:

    I had so much fun working on The Help that I always wanted to do another female ensemble film,” Chastain told Deadline. “I love the Bourne movies, the Mission: Impossible films, and wondered why, except for Charlie’s Angels, there hadn’t been a true female ensemble action-thriller spy film.

    She seems to have forgotten the one that begat them all. I love you Jessica but that's an unacceptable oversight on your part if I may say so.
    Which one? It seems to have slipped by me as well.
    "Bond, James Bond". I was referring to her professed love for Bourne and MI without mentioning the big enchilada. As @ClarkDevlin noted, she is an avowed feminist so perhaps she didn't want to mention the "misogynist" while pitching her new film.
  • Posts: 3,164
    NicNac wrote: »
    And when this crashes and burns everyone will hesitate, ponder for a moment and start yelling 'I KNOW! WHAT ABOUT A FEMALE JAMES BOND?'

    At least they're trying this with a fully original property.

    Isn't that what most people have been complaining about re: female Bond/Ocean's/Ghostbusters?
  • BMW_with_missilesBMW_with_missiles All the usual refinements.
    Posts: 3,000
    I'm not against female heroines at all. As long as they don't do it for the sake of feminism, I'm all for it. The 2010-2014 TV series adaptation of Luc Besson's film, Nikita was female-led with strong heroines in the lead, it ended up being my second all-time favourite spy show after Danger Man.

    It's just that... we, men, don't brag about the all-male cast whenever we make something, so it'd be better if the opposite gender of the species drops it as well and make a film for its story, not for the ideology. And yes, I love Charlie's Angels, too. Not the films, though.

    Exactly. The issue is when it becomes a political stunt first, and a film second.
    antovolk wrote: »
    NicNac wrote: »
    And when this crashes and burns everyone will hesitate, ponder for a moment and start yelling 'I KNOW! WHAT ABOUT A FEMALE JAMES BOND?'

    At least they're trying this with a fully original property.

    Isn't that what most people have been complaining about re: female Bond/Ocean's/Ghostbusters?

    I will concede that is its one virtue.
  • edited May 2018 Posts: 12,837
    antovolk wrote: »
    NicNac wrote: »
    And when this crashes and burns everyone will hesitate, ponder for a moment and start yelling 'I KNOW! WHAT ABOUT A FEMALE JAMES BOND?'

    At least they're trying this with a fully original property.

    Isn't that what most people have been complaining about re: female Bond/Ocean's/Ghostbusters?

    Yeah. "Why not make an original film with an all female cast", then they do, and it gets this reaction because PC gone mad bloody feminists ruining everything.

    No the plot doesn't sound very original but I think it's the same as something like Expendables where the appeal is meant to come from the big cast.
    I'm not against female heroines at all. As long as they don't do it for the sake of feminism, I'm all for it. The 2010-2014 TV series adaptation of Luc Besson's film, Nikita was female-led with strong heroines in the lead, it ended up being my second all-time favourite spy show after Danger Man.

    It's just that... we, men, don't brag about the all-male cast whenever we make something, so it'd be better if the opposite gender of the species drops it as well and make a film for its story, not for the ideology. And yes, I love Charlie's Angels, too. Not the films, though.

    Because an all male cast for an action film of this scale isn't much of a novelty while this is.
  • Posts: 5,774
    Indeed : The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen (except for the fourth movie and the TV series pilot), Ocean's Eleven, Seven Golden Men, The Five Man Army, and so on.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    I'm not against female heroines at all. As long as they don't do it for the sake of feminism, I'm all for it. The 2010-2014 TV series adaptation of Luc Besson's film, Nikita was female-led with strong heroines in the lead, it ended up being my second all-time favourite spy show after Danger Man.

    It's just that... we, men, don't brag about the all-male cast whenever we make something, so it'd be better if the opposite gender of the species drops it as well and make a film for its story, not for the ideology. And yes, I love Charlie's Angels, too. Not the films, though.
    Because an all male cast for an action film of this scale isn't much of a novelty while this is.
    Is it? There are many all-female cast action films I could name, including Charlie’s Angels, Sucker Punch, Naked Weapon, Bandidas, Viva Maria!, the Resident Evil films in a manner, etc. And while not action, Sophie Marceau’s Female Agents also adds to the list as a group of women come together to assassinate a high ranking Nazi officer and whatnot. But, people act like this is something new and hasn’t been done before when there have been films at least since the mid-1960s.
  • Posts: 3,164
    I'm not against female heroines at all. As long as they don't do it for the sake of feminism, I'm all for it. The 2010-2014 TV series adaptation of Luc Besson's film, Nikita was female-led with strong heroines in the lead, it ended up being my second all-time favourite spy show after Danger Man.

    It's just that... we, men, don't brag about the all-male cast whenever we make something, so it'd be better if the opposite gender of the species drops it as well and make a film for its story, not for the ideology. And yes, I love Charlie's Angels, too. Not the films, though.
    Because an all male cast for an action film of this scale isn't much of a novelty while this is.
    Is it? There are many all-female cast action films I could name, including Charlie’s Angels, Sucker Punch, Naked Weapon, Bandidas, Viva Maria!, the Resident Evil films in a manner, etc. And while not action, Sophie Marceau’s Female Agents also adds to the list as a group of women come together to assassinate a high ranking Nazi officer and whatnot. But, people act like this is something new and hasn’t been done before when there have been films at least since the mid-1960s.


    As Chastain and co rightly mentioned in the announcement, Charlie's Angels is the only one with the level of star power and high profile as 355 would have.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    I wish them the best of luck and success. Hope it becomes a film franchise rather than a one-off, so there'll be something for all.
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,586
    bondjames wrote: »
    jake24 wrote: »
    bondjames wrote: »
    This quote from Chastain is quite revealing:

    I had so much fun working on The Help that I always wanted to do another female ensemble film,” Chastain told Deadline. “I love the Bourne movies, the Mission: Impossible films, and wondered why, except for Charlie’s Angels, there hadn’t been a true female ensemble action-thriller spy film.

    She seems to have forgotten the one that begat them all. I love you Jessica but that's an unacceptable oversight on your part if I may say so.
    Which one? It seems to have slipped by me as well.
    "Bond, James Bond". I was referring to her professed love for Bourne and MI without mentioning the big enchilada. As @ClarkDevlin noted, she is an avowed feminist so perhaps she didn't want to mention the "misogynist" while pitching her new film.
    Ah, of course. I thought you meant she forgot a major female-centric spy franchise.
  • ggl007ggl007 www.archivo007.com Spain, España
    edited May 2018 Posts: 2,535
    1366_2000.jpg

    shutterstock_9667362ab1.jpg?w=780
  • edited August 2019 Posts: 3,164
    Release date now set for January 15, 2021, via - dun dun dun - Universal.

    https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/amp/news/jessica-chastains-female-led-spy-film-355-lands-january-2021-release-1233336?__twitter_impression=true

    Production is currently underway in London, after kicking off in Paris last month. Diane Kruger has replaced Marion Cotillard (who dropped out), plus Sebastian Stan and Edgar Ramirez round out the cast.

    Loads of production updates on the film's official Instagram (likely run by Chastain's team)
  • Posts: 319
    Is it just me or does it seem pathetic to trash a film no one has seen just because it's conceivable that the makers might have an agenda? Keeping in mind, everyone always has an agenda.
  • M_Blaise wrote: »
    Is it just me or does it seem pathetic to trash a film no one has seen just because it's conceivable that the makers might have an agenda? Keeping in mind, everyone always has an agenda.

    My agenda is to quash your agenda. Nothing wrong with that, is there?
  • Posts: 319
    M_Blaise wrote: »
    Is it just me or does it seem pathetic to trash a film no one has seen just because it's conceivable that the makers might have an agenda? Keeping in mind, everyone always has an agenda.

    My agenda is to quash your agenda. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

    That depends on what you consider my agenda to be.
  • Posts: 3,164
    Trailer possibly today, NYCC panel Saturday

  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,861
    Cool; I missed the news about this one. Always up for a bit of spy action even if the synopsis sounds a bit naff. This will be one which really depends on the tone and how they're making it so the trailer will be interesting to see.
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