EXCLUSIVE: Coming into this weeksEFM,Ben Affleckaction-thrillerHypnoticwas barely on anyones radar.
However, the movie was quietly one of the markets X-factors.
Oscar winner Affleck would play a detective investigating a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program.
(L-R) Ben Affleck and Robert RodriguezGetty Images
Pedigree also came from former Warner Bros exec Jeff Robinov who was aboard as producer.
A lot of twists, a lot of turns.
Very exciting.. Its one of my favorite stories.
I started writing it back in 2002.
So its one of the ones Ive had the longest that Ive been wanting to do.
He teamed up on the script withKong:Skull IslandandGodzillascribe Max Borenstein.
There was a big soiree at the AFM, a buyer recalls.
Everybody bid hard and it attracted some of the most important international distributors in the market.
Among cast to join were Alice Braga, William Fichter, JD Pardo, Kelly Frye and Jeff Fahey.
Not one U.S. buyer had bitten and the film had been in post since late 2021.
The movies international buyers were naturally antsy.
They had also seen its main financier andU.S.
distributor Solstice implodearound the timeHypnoticfinally went into production in late 2021.
Then the production itself still had to grapple with a raft of Covid protocols.
My other son is my co-writer/producer.
My daughter is doing storyboards.
And then my other son edits with me.
So, its a family affair.
What would become ofHypnotic, many of the films backers rightly worried?
There is a plan, we were told amid PR scrambling.
Its coming together, just hold on.
Ketchup is a boutique financier-distributor whose last stateside release in 2019 was family filmCaptain Sabertooth and the Magic Diamond.
It has never released a film ofHypnotics budget or screen commitment.
It wasnt exactly the special sauce international buyers had been hoping for.
What has been the reaction among buyers?
Ive spoken to at least one major buyer who is looking to get out of their deal.
I hope it isnt dumped at the end of August, they added.
Another simply replied: A $70M Ben Affleck and Robert Rodriguez action film with Ketchup at the helm?
Hopefully, everyone is pleasantly surprised come Friday (and the summer release).
But there may be one or two plot twists to come.
