Lulu Wang directed one of the best movies of 2019 – The Farewell. That movie isn’t even officially out yet, but Wang already has her next project lined-up: a sci-fi film called Children of the New World. Going from the indie drama territory of The Farewell to a sci-fi flick seems like a big jump, and that’s exciting. At the same time, Wang says that while this is a sci-fi movie, it’ll still explore the dynamics of family – just like The Farewell.
I loved The Farewell, Lulu Wang’s funny, melancholy drama about the cultural divide between a Chinese-born, U.S.-raised woman (Awkwafina) and her extended family back in China. The film, which was inspired by a true story, took me completely be surprised, and immediately made me interested in future projects from the writer-director.
One of those future projects will be Children of the New World, a science fiction film Wang will write and direct. Plot details are being kept secret, but the filmmaker is adapting the story from Alexander Weinstein’s short story collection, also titled Children of the New World. Here’s a general synopsis of the collection to give you a better idea of what Wang’s film might focus on:
Children of the New World introduces readers to a near-future world of social media implants, memory manufacturers, dangerously immersive virtual reality games, and alarmingly intuitive robots. Many of these characters live in a utopian future of instant connection and technological gratification that belies an unbridgeable human distance, while others inhabit a post-collapse landscape made primitive by disaster, which they must work to rebuild as we once did millennia ago…Children of the New World grapples with our unease in this modern world and how our ever-growing dependence on new technologies has changed the shape of our society.
That description has me even more excited, and I look forward to checking out whatever Wang comes up with here. Children of the New World is coming from Big Beach, a production company that worked with Wang on The Farewell, and Votiv. “I could not have made The Farewell without my fantastic producers at Big Beach, so I’m looking forward to this new collaboration, with them and Votiv, to continue exploring the evolving dynamics of family,” Wang said.
“We had an incredible experience collaborating with Lulu Wang on The Farewell and are thrilled to be making another film with this visionary director, this time working alongside Votiv and exploring a completely different space and genre,” added producer Dani Melia.
The Farewell opens July 12.
Source: Read Full Article
