‘Shut In’: Jason Bateman To Direct ‘Panic Room’-Style Thriller For New Line
Hey, remember earlier this year whenJason Batemanbeat out the directors ofGame of Thrones,The Handmaid’s Tale, andKilling Evetowin an Emmyfor Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series? Split votes be damned – the dude took home the gold, and immediately parlayed that success into potentially directing a remake ofClue. Now Bateman has set up another movie to direct (possibly instead) calledShut In, a thriller from New Line that’s described as being in the vein of David Fincher’s 2002 Jodie Foster moviePanic Room.
Deadlinereports that Bateman will next directShut In, a small scale, contained movie described as an “edgy thriller in which a single mother is held captive by her violent ex, with her two young children left at risk. She must do everything to protect them and survive.” This is the first project Bateman will direct but not star in since getting behind the camera for an episode of the 2008 television comedyDo Not Disturb. (Since then, he’s helmedBad Words,The Family Fang,Ozark, and a couple episodes of the upcoming HBO adaptation of Stephen King’sThe Outsider.) The script is from first-time screenwriterMelanie Toast.
The question now becomes: will Batemanstill direct theClueremake? Deadline’s article is unclear: it says the new version ofClueis “still alive, but it would have been too much for Bateman to get it done and get back to his Netflix series.” Does that mean he’s walking away from the remake altogether, or are the producers ofCluegoing to wait on Bateman to finish another season ofOzarkbefore getting underway? I’ve reached out to his representatives for clarification, and will update this piece if we hear back. EvidentlyShut Inis a “better fit for his schedule,” although presumablyCluewould also be a one-location thriller of sorts. My guess is the all-star nature of aClueremake cast made it more difficult to align thanShut In, which could theoretically star an unknown (as far as we know, casting has not begun yet).
This movie is being produced in part byDallas SonnierandAmanda Presmykfrom Cinestate, the relatively small production company behind movies likeBone TomahawkandBrawl in Cell Block 99. But they don’tonlymake ultra-violent S. Craig Zahler movies: Cinestate also producedThe Standoff at Sparrow Creek, one of this year’s most riveting thrillers and one that seems to share the same very loose “one location” vibe withShut In. (Sparrow Creekis on Hulu right now – do yourselves a favor and seek it out.)
Final negotiations between Bateman and the studio are reportedly still underway, but the plan is apparently to begin production onShut Insometime the first quarter of2020.
