“Matrix Resurrections” star Jessica Henwick is heading to “The Royal Hotel” with Julia Garner. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed Henwick has boarded Kitty Green’s social thriller, as has Hugo Weaving. News about Garner’s casting broke last month.
Directed and co-written by Green, “The Royal Hotel” is inspired by true events, and sees best friends Hanna (Garner) and Liv (Henwick) backpacking in Australia. “After they run out of money, Liv, looking for an adventure, convinces Hanna to take a temporary live-in job behind the bar of a pub called The Royal Hotel in a remote Outback mining town,” the source teases. “Bar owner Billy (Weaving) and a host of locals give the girls a riotous introduction to Down Under drinking culture, but things turn nasty when their jokes and behavior cross the line. Soon Hanna and Liv find themselves trapped in an unnerving situation that grows rapidly out of their control.”
The See-Saw Films title will begin production this summer in Australia. HanWay Films will launch sales this week via an online presentation.
“Kitty has a truly distinctive cinematic voice, and we’re thrilled to be collaborating with her on this gripping, rollercoaster of a journey into the heart of the Australian outback,” said Emile Sherman and Iain Canning, who are producing for See-Saw.
“Like we saw with ‘The Assistant,’ ‘The Royal Hotel’ will get under the skin of audiences, bringing a sense of adrenaline and edge of seat compulsion to watch,” Green stressed. “We are delighted to be adding the incredible Jessica Henwick and Hugo Weaving to our cast alongside the brilliant Julia Garner.”
“We are hugely excited to work with See-Saw Films on ‘The Royal Hotel,'” HanWay Films managing director Gabrielle Stewart added. “Following in the thematic footsteps of ‘The Assistant,’ this time Kitty Green gets to crank up the tension with a chilling, entertaining, yet all too recognizable tale of young women confronting the toxic masculine environment that threatens their trip of a lifetime. A universal story that is horribly recognizable.”
Garner and Green previously collaborated on “The Assistant,” a tense drama about a young aspiring producer working for a Harvey Weinstein-like predatory mogul. Docs “Casting JonBenet” and “Ukraine Is Not a Brothel” are among Green’s previous projects.
Garner recently starred in “Inventing Anna,” Shonda Rhimes’ take on conwoman Anna Delvey. A two-time Emmy winner for “Ozark,” Garner’s other credits include “Dirty John” and “The Americans.” Next, she’s toplining Natalie Erika James’ psychological thriller “Apartment 7A.”
Henwick is among the ensemble cast of “Knives Out 2,” which is expected to debut later this year. She counts “Blade Runner: Black Lotus,” “Game of Thrones,” and “Iron Fist” among her other projects.
