Naomi Ackie joins Channing Tatum in Zoe Kravitz’s Pussy Island. MGM acquired the film during the virtual Cannes Festival in a highly competitive situation which marks Kravitz directorial debut.
Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum wrote the film that centers on a philanthropist and tech mogul Slater (Tatum) who whisks away young, clever, Los Angeles cocktail waitress Frida to his mysterious private island. When she skillfully maneuvers her way into King’s inner circle and ultimately an intimate gathering on his private island, she is ready for a journey of a lifetime. Despite the epic setting, beautiful people, ever-flowing champagne and late-night dance parties, Frida can sense that there’s more to this island than meets the eye. Something she can’t quite put her finger on. Something terrifying.
In speaking on Pussy Island, Kravitz went into detail from writing the project to its name’s meaning.
“The title means a lot of things. I started writing this story in 2017. As a woman in general, and a woman in this industry, I’ve experienced some pretty wild behavior from the opposite sex. The title was kind of a joke at first, this place where people would go, bring women, party and hang out. The story evolved into something else, but the title wound up having multiple meanings. And it alludes to this time and place we claim to not be in anymore, in terms of sexual politics. People are evolving and changing but there is still a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths from past behavior. It’s a nod to that, but it’s also playful, and a really playful film in a lot of ways. I like that the title leads with that and has some heavy meaning beneath it.”
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Bruce Cohen, Kravitz, Tiffany Persons and Tatum’s Free Association will produce Pussy Island, with Garret Levitz overseeing for Free Association.
Up next Ackie will star as in the Sony biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody. Ackie currently stars in Season 3 of Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang’s Master of None. As an actress, Kravitz plays Catwoman opposite Robert Pattinson in the upcoming film, The Batman.