Zoë Kravitz will direct Channing Tatum in her upcoming directorial debut, Pussy Island. The thriller — written by Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum — will follow the story of Frida, a Los Angeles cocktail waitress who finds her way into tech mogul Slater King’s inner circle. When she is invited to his private island, Frida begins to notice there is something sinister about the perfect beach paradise.
Kravitz commented on the film’s provocative title in an interview with Deadline.
“The title means a lot of things. I started writing this story in 2017. As a woman in general, and a woman in this industry, I’ve experienced some pretty wild behavior from the opposite sex. 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. And 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 behavior. It’s a nod to that, but it’s also playful, and a really playful film in a lot of ways. I like that the title leads with that and has some heavy meaning beneath it.”
Pussy Island will mark a big leap for Kravitz’s career. While she has landed roles in countless, major studio productions such as the Fantastic Beasts series, Mad Max: Fury Road, Big Little Lies, and the upcoming The Batman as Catwoman, Kravitz has yet to step behind the camera of a feature film. However, she did produce the 2020 series, High Fidelity. In what she called “an incredible education in storytelling,” Pussy Island will finally give her a chance to bring her story that she’s been writing for over four years to life.
Kravitz also said she immediately thought to call Tatum about playing the role of King. Not knowing her personally, Tatum told Deadline that he was shocked when he received Kravitz’s call out of the blue — shocked, but excited and fascinated by the story Kravitz wanted to tell and the character she wanted him to play.
“Slater is a wild character, an extremely committed version — psychotic possibly — but an extreme version of myself. I’m very interested to see what humans are capable of, physically, mentally, spiritually, energetically, all of it. He wants to know what people are capable of, what they want, and what they are capable of when they want something. And how far are you willing to push yourself to get the thing you want. For me, that supersedes gender, race or religion, creed. That’s wildly fascinating to me.”
No word yet on when Pussy Island will be released. Check out the official synopsis for Kravitz's directorial debut below.
“Frida is a young, clever, Los Angeles cocktail waitress who has her eyes set on the prize: philanthropist and tech mogul Slater King (Tatum). When she skillfully maneuvers her way into King’s inner circle and ultimately an intimate gathering on his private island, she is ready for a journey of a lifetime. Despite the epic setting, beautiful people, ever-flowing champagne and late-night dance parties, Frida can sense that there’s more to this island than meets the eye. Something she can’t quite put her finger on. Something terrifying.”