Naomi Watts will star in the English remake of the hit Austrian psychological thriller ‘Goodnight Mommy’. Amazon Studios will mount the remake with the prestigious independent label Animal Kingdom and the Playtime production company. Released in 2014, the original film became a cult classic and was selected as Austria’s entry for best foreign language film at the Academy Awards.
The original film was released in 2014.
Matt Sobel (‘Take Me To The River’) will direct from a script by Kyle Warren. In addition to Watts herself, the directors of the original film, Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, will serve as executive producers. Playtime acquired the remake rights and developed the new film that Amazon will finance and release globally.
‘Goodnight Mommy’ follows twin brothers who, when sent to stay with her mother, are surprised to find her wrapped in bandages after a recent intervention. As her behavior becomes increasingly erratic and unusual, the twins become convinced that she is an imposter. Suspicion of her sets off a roller coaster of emotional mind games and misunderstandings between mother and children, which ultimately explodes with irreparable and heartbreaking consequences.
“My favorite films are those that invite audiences to delve into their protagonist’s journey. In our reimagining of Goodnight Mommy, the fear of abandonment, and the terrible realization that the people close to us may not be who they seem, create a immersive nightmare, with visceral sensations front and center. I can’t wait to create this heartwarming story with Amazon and the incomparable Naomi Watts, “said Sobel.
Nominated twice for an Oscar, for ’21 Grams’ and ‘The Impossible’, Naomi Watts recently made ‘Penguin Bloom’, a Netflix project based on the true story and the best-selling book about a mother facing the aftermath of a terrible accident. She will soon be seen in Phillip Noyce’s ‘Lakewood’ and she is currently shooting the thriller ‘Infinite Storm’ for Bleecker Street. She is a producer on both films.
