Critics were taken with newcomer Sasha Lane’s performance in Andrea Arnold’s latest feature American Honey. The film, which opens stateside on September 30th, held its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this past spring to warm reviews and seemed to beacon breakout for Lane – the film won Arnold a Jury Prize at the festival. Now, per The Hollywood Reporter, we can report that Lane is attached to a follow-up project: an intriguing art-house curiosity entitled Shoplifters of the World Unite.
Eschewing an opportunity for a more mainstream follow-up, Lane follows American Honey with another slice-of-life art-house title. The film, written and directed by music video vet Stephen Kijak, tells a story that may strike a chord with many a music aficionado. In 1987, the music world took a hit when Morrissey made the fateful announcement that his British rock band The Smiths had broken up. Shoplifters of the World Unite tells the story of how The Smith’s break-up prompts a young man, juiced by sorrow and the unrequited love of a young woman, to barge into a radio station (with a gun in toe) and demand that the DJ play The Smiths the rest of the night.
Nick Krause (The Descendants), Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood) and Joe Manganiello (Magic Mike) are all attached to join Shoplifters of the World Unite, with Manganiello (who’s had an exciting week thanks to Batman) also serving as producer of the title; he is slated to portray the disc jockey. Production is scheduled to start sometime this winter.
Lane made her feature film debut with American Honey, which recently screened at the continuing Toronto Film Festival. That film also stars Shia LaBeouf (Fury), Riley Keough (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Arielle Holmes (Heaven Knows What).
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