Beasts of the Southern Wild director Benh Zeitlin is already looking ahead to his next project, a Louisiana-made fable about an “out of whack” aging process.
Speaking to the Associated Press as he prepares to receive the New Orleans Film Society’s “Celluloid Hero” award, Zeitlin spoke for the first time on his next project, one the publication describes as “a Louisiana-made fable about a hidden ecosystem where the aging process is ‘out of whack’ and people can age quickly or very slowly.”
What’s perhaps the most interesting tidbit here is that Zeitlin plans on using the same crew on the project that was on Beasts of the Southern Wild, and he also would like to reunite with the same cast. Whether this includes the two breakout performers Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry, both of whom are getting some serious Oscar buzz, remains to be seen, but it would seem likely considering the quote.
Benh Zeitlin on pre-production
The Playlist adds some interesting background here, with a quote from Zeitlin describing the pre-production process on Beasts of the Southern Wild.
“Preproduction is like this little animal that you’re raising, and it’s like a tiger, and you raise it until it’s way bigger and stronger and faster than you, and you can’t control it at all. You just set it loose and then you have to chase it. And so for everybody that worked on ‘Beasts,’ it was like an athletic event. A safari hunt. With this running beast that you’re trying not to be destroyed by…it’s always fun,” Zeitlin told us over the summer adding, “the movies are secondary. The tiger chase comes first.”
Why is this important? Considering Zeitlin plans on bringing the same process from Beasts of the Southern Wild on to his next project, one can predict the pre-production will relate greatly. We’ll be sure to keep an eye on this project as it movies forward, considering we loved Beasts of the Southern Wild.