Believe it or not, but Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut once went under the title of Pussy Island. Yeah, really. Unfortunately, that title hasn’t stuck, and now it goes by Blink Twice which isn’t nearly as outrageous for what is described as a horror-comedy. But the premise remains the same: a cocktail waitress with her eyes on moving up in the world, hooks up with a tech billionaire who invites her to his private island, where things are definitely not what they appear to be.
The film was written and directed by Kravitz, with input from her star, Channing Tatum, so he could develop his tech billionaire character, Slater King. The other lead goes to Naomi Ackie, known for her role in the recent Star Wars trilogy and the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
Here’s the official synopsis: When tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) meets cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) at his fundraising gala, sparks fly. He invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. It’s paradise. Wild nights blend into sun-soaked days, and everyone’s having a great time. No one wants this trip to end, but as strange things start to happen, Frida begins to question her reality. There is something wrong with this place. She’ll have to uncover the truth if she wants to make it out of this party alive.
Also in the cast are Christian Slater, Alia Shawkat, Geena Davis, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Liz Caribel Sierra, Levon Hawke, Trew Mullen, Saul Williams, Kyle MacLachlan, and Cris Costa.
At one point, Kravitz insisted the Pussy Island title was crucial to the message she was trying to send, stating…
“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.”
Clearly, things have changed, and for the better if it means the movie is getting out there to more people. Blink Twice hits theaters on August 23rd.
