Hyperobject Industries producing Andrew Kevin Walker script; WME Independent, CAA Media Finance & XYZ Films launching at Cannes
Kristen Stewart and Oscar Isaac are set to star in the thriller Flesh of the Gods from director Panos Cosmatos (Mandy). The film is written by Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en, The Killer) based on a story by Cosmatos and Walker, and is produced by Adam McKay and Betsy Koch of Hyperobject Industries and Oscar Isaac and Gena Konstantinakos for Mad Gene Media. Domestic rights are co-repped by CAA Media Finance and WME Independent, with XYZ Films handling international sales at the upcoming Marché du Film at Cannes. The film is set to shoot later this year.
In glittering 80’s LA, married couple, RAOUL (Oscar Isaac) and ALEX (Kristen Stewart), descend each evening from their luxury skyscraper condo and head into an electric nighttime realm of 80’s Los Angeles. When they cross paths with the mysterious and enigmatic NAMELESS and her hard-partying cabal, Raoul and Alex are seduced into a glamorous, surrealistic world of hedonism, thrills, and violence.
Academy-Award nominated actress Kristen Stewart starred in The Twilight Saga and Snow White and the Huntsman, as well as critically acclaimed indies such as Still Alice, Clouds of Sils Maria, and Personal Shopper. Stewart’s portrayal of Diana, Princess of Wales, in Pablo Lorrain’s Spencer earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She can currently be seen in Rose Glass’s Love Lies Bleeding, which was released this year by A24.
Oscar Isaac is a Golden Globe award-winning and Emmy-nominated actor, producer, and musician. Isaac was nominated for a 2022 SAG and Emmy Award for his role in the HBO limited series “Scenes from a Marriage.” He earned a Golden Globe Award for his role on the HBO miniseries “Show Me A Hero” and an Independent Spirit Award and Golden Globe Nomination for his work in the Coen Brothers’ film Inside Llewyn Davis. Additional film and television credits include A Most Violent Year, Ex Machina, Operation Finale, At Eternity’s Gate, The Card Counter, Dune, “Moon Knight.” In 2019, Isaac and his wife, writer and director Elvira Lind, created their Mad Gene Media production company. The first project under their banner, The Letter Room, was a short film written and directed by Lind and starring Isaac and received a nomination at the 2021 Academy Awards.
Panos Cosmatos is a visionary filmmaker known for his unique style and vivid storytelling. He gained widespread recognition for his directorial debut, Beyond the Black Rainbow, which showcased his distinctive visual DNA. In 2018, Cosmatos further solidified his reputation with Mandy, a psychedelic revenge thriller starring Nicolas Cage, which premiered at Sundance. The film received universal critical acclaim for its bold visuals, intense performances, and atmospheric soundtrack. It is now considered a cult classic.
Flesh of the Gods marks the third collaboration between Cosmatos and XYZ. They also have Nekrokosm in development with A24.
Walker is best known for writing David Fincher’s Se7en, Joel Schumacher’s 8MM, and Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow. He most recently wrote David Fincher’s The Killer.
“This director, this writer, these incredible actors, vampires, choice 80’s punk, style and attitude for miles… that’s the film we’re bringing you today. We think it’s wildly commercial AND wildly artful. Our ambitions are to make a movie that ripples through popular culture, fashion, music, and film. Can you tell how excited I am?” said Adam McKay.
“Like Los Angeles itself FLESH OF THE GODS inhabits the liminal realm between fantasy and nightmare. Both propulsive and hypnotic, FLESH will take you on a hot rod joy ride deep into the glittering heart of hell,” said director Panos Cosmatos.
Current titles from the XYZ Films studio include Sundance title Skywalkers: A Love Story, which sold to Netflix, and BlackBerry starring Gotham and Independent Spirit-award nominee Glenn Howerton, which was released by IFC Films, Atom Egoyan’s TIFF selection Seven Veils starring Amanda Seyfried, Ash starring Eiza González and Aaron Paul and directed by Flying Lotus, recent TIFF acquisition Backspot starring Devery Jacobs and Evan Rachel Wood, the Netflix Original Havoc, directed by Gareth Evans and starring Tom Hardy and Forrest Whitaker, and Daniela Forever directed by Nacho Vigalondo and starring Henry Golding and Beatrice Grannó. The company’s classic titles include The Raid franchise, 2017 Sundance winner I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore, Panos Cosmatos’ psychedelic revenge thriller Mandy, and Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation.
Isaac is repped by WME and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher. Stewart is repped by WME and McKuin Frankel Whitehead. Cosmatos is repped by CAA and Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin. Walker is repped by Brillstein entertainment Partners and Ziffren Brittenham.
About XYZ Films:
XYZ Films is an independent studio whose mission is to empower visionary storytellers from every corner of the planet. As a producer, financier, and distributor, the company is uniquely suited to identify talented filmmakers and bring their stories to life. XYZ recently expanded into talent management, working with a global roster of filmmakers. XYZ was founded in 2008 by Nate Bolotin, Nick Spicer, and Aram Tertzakian.
About Hyperobjects Industries:
Hyperobject Industries is a multi-platform production company from Academy-Award winning writer-director-producer Adam McKay. The company’s name is a shout-out to environmental philosopher Timothy Morton’s use of the term ‘hyperobject’ and his belief that humankind needs to re-evaluate its relationship with nature as a whole. The Hyperobject Industries team includes McKay’s long-time producer Kevin Messick and producers Betsy Koch, Todd Schulman and Maeve Cullinane. Hyperobject Industries’ focus is wide ranging from comedies, dramas, horror, documentaries and documentary-series as well as politically charged and challenging subjects with which McKay has become synonymous. McKay’s last feature, Don’t Look Up, which he and Kevin Messick produced, is one of Netflix’s most successful films and received four Oscar and BAFTA nominations, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. Other recent productions include the box office hit The Menu starring Anya-Taylor Joy, Nicholas Hoult and Ralph Fiennes for Searchlight Pictures, and Fresh starringDaisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan from director Mimi Cave with a screenplay from Lauryn Kahn that was released on Hulu. In addition, Hyperobject Industries develops original podcasts, such as Bedtime Stories with Adam McKay, Death at the Wing, Death on the Lot and Broken: Seeking Justice. McKay also served as an executive producer on HBO’s Painting with John and HBO documentaries Q: Into the Storm, 537 Votes, BS High and Hulu’s most-watched documentary film God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty.
Television projects included the HBO drama series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty and HBO late night series Game Theory with Bomani Jones. McKay and Bong Joon Ho are partnering on an HBO limited series inspired by Bong Joon Ho’s Academy Award Best Picture Parasite.McKay and Messick served as Executive Producers on HBO’s critically acclaimed and Emmy-winning series Succession.
