Blink Twice: Why Zoey Kravitz’s Channing Tatum Thriller Had to Be Changed

Sometimes a movie is hidden behind a working title. Because its authors have not yet decided under what name it will be released in our cinemas or, in the case of a blockbuster, most often, to hide its nature during the filming or delivery of its images (discs hard drives that contain IMAX. Alien: Romulus version It contained a feature film, presumably titled “clones”).

And then there’s the case of Blink Twice. Zoe Kravitz’s first feature, seen in the vein of Batman or Mad Max Braz, should have been called this thriller Island of PusThe title was chosen when he started writing in 2017. But it changed a few months before the theatrical release: “It wasn’t my choice at all”He tells us when we open this issue. “Because I was told I couldn’t use the title Pussy Island.”

for what reason “It was very clear to me that ‘pussy’ was a word that we were not yet ready to accept in our society.”Zoe Kravitz explained Entertainment Weekly in the month of July. “There were a lot of obstacles in our way, between the MPAA not wanting to put it on a poster, a billboard or a kiosk, and theaters on tickets.”

“Oddly enough, after my research, it was women who were offended by the word. They heard the title and said they didn’t want to see the movie. Even though that was one of the reasons I wanted to use the word. The word : To be able to take it and make it something we can use without discomfort, but we’re not there yet, and I think it’s my responsibility to listen to that, see the film and what they feel.”

It was women who resented this word. They found the title and said they didn’t want to see this movie

Therefore, Pussy Island became Blink Twice. “I think in retrospect it was the right thing to do.”Zoe Kravitz tells us. “The title almost said too much, like alienating people. When we went with Blink Twice, it kind of focused the story. Because it fits well with the line that Frida says, and I also realized how big it is. It fits the fact that We follow people who can only communicate with their eyes.

“They can’t say “Help me! I’m scared, get me out of here!” I really appreciated having a title that matched the central message of the story.” And you can discover the latter, starring Naomi Eck and the amazing Channing Tatum, in cinemas from August 21.

Commentary collected by Maximilien Pierret in Paris on August 18, 2024