Zoe Kravitz to make directorial debut on Pussy Island starring Channing Tatum: ‘The title was a joke at first’

Zoe Kravitz has revealed she is making her directorial debut on new film Pussy Island and despite the ‘joke’ title, it will have ‘some heavy meaning behind it’.

The Big Little Lies star, 32, has enlisted Channing Tatum, 41, for the thriller, who was the ‘first choice’ for the role and the person she had in mind while writing the character of Slater, a philanthropist and tech mogul.

The plot will see Slater take cocktail waitress Frida to a mysterious private island which, despite the stunning setting, beautiful people and endless supply of champagne, holds a terrifying secret.

Zoe, who co-wrote the screenplay with E.T. Feigenbaum, revealed to Deadline that she started writing it in 2017 after being inspired by ‘some pretty wild behaviour from the opposite sex’ she experienced as a woman in the entertainment industry.

She explained: ‘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. 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 behaviour.

‘It’s a nod to that, but it’s also … a really playful film in a lot of ways. I like that the title leads with that and has some heavy meaning beneath it.’

She added that Channing was the first choice for the character of slater as he is a ‘true feminist’ and interested in exploring the subject matter.

Channing said his character is an ‘extreme version’ of himself and ‘wild and psychotic possibly’.

He added of the movie: ‘It became less about men and women and on more of a human thing that will open people’s eyes, rather than us drawing lines in the sand, the you’re a man, I’m a woman, it’s [an] us-against-you thing.

‘This goes deeper in a direction I’m fascinated by and I’m interested in seeing how people receive this and break it down in their own lives. And what they think the movie means and how would they have made decisions.’

Pussy Island’s release date is yet to be confirmed.

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