With social media infiltrating the minutiae of daily existence, it’s only inevitable that the prevalence of such things would seep into the multiplex. And, of course, movie theaters near you will soon be bombarded with “social media thrillers” that center the dangers of Twitter feeds, Instagram accounts, Facebook profiles, and Google+ circles (kidding about the Google+, sorry, Google!). After all, what’s more terrifying that someone having access to scads of information about you, including (in some cases) your real-time location?
And what could be more compelling than such a thriller penned by Black Swan scribe Mark Heyman? We reported on Heyman’s script, called XOXO, over a year ago, and back then we only knew that it was set to center on “the way that social media has altered our interactions. The story is about a young man who meets a girl online, starts up a relationship with her, but then finds her to be not quite what he expected once she starts taking the relationship to strange, stalkery places.” The film will also “incorporate both webcam, documentary elements…and it will create stylized visual sequences to depict the online interactions between the two main characters.” Heyman wrote the script on spec, but it now seems to be tapping right along, with Lionsgate attaching George Nolfi to both direct and help with a rewrite on the project.
Variety reports that the Adjustment Bureau writer and director (and The Bourne Ultimatum and Ocean’s Twelve writer) will supervise Heyman’s rewrite, which appears to still be set to include those “stylized visual sequences” for cinematic punch. The outlet also reports a few more details about the relationship at the film’s center – it will involve an engaged executive who dabbles in online flirting, which leads to his meeting an “alluring woman” on Facebook that ultimately turns into a relationship. Of course, there are “deadly” consequences. That old story!
The film will also be produced by Darren Aronofsky and Michael London, adding some real gravitas to a film that, without its pedigree, sounds somewhat unimaginative.
Nolfi is also set to rewrite and direct One Minute to Midnight, Fox 2000′s upcoming Cuban Missile Crisis film.