Per Variety, Sean Baker is close to wrapping shooting on a film he’s been secretly filming in Texas.
The project is reportedly a dark comedy titled Red Rocket, although plot details are under wraps right now. Simon Rex will star, and production should finish this month. Production has employed industry standard safety protocols. The film was independently financed and will be looking for distribution.
This will be Baker’s first film since the critically acclaimed The Florida Project in 2017. He previously directed Tangerine on an iPhone, which caught the eye of the industry. He’s always been a director interested in new cinematic avenues, and has sought to illuminate the lives of disenfranchised people through his work. Expect Red Rocket to continue in that vain.
Baker has reportedly co-written the script alongside Chris Bergoch, who has worked with him on his previous films. Drew Daniels (Waves) is serving as the film’s cinematographer.
Baker isn’t the first filmmaker to secretly shoot something. The recent Borat sequel was only officially announced to the world weeks before it hit Amazon Prime, and Steven Soderbergh took a similarly quiet approach to making Let Them All Talk, his upcoming movie which will star Meryl Streep and Gemma Chan.
We’ll wait for more plot details to be announced, as well as who jumps on board to distribute the film. Major studio and streaming names are unlikely because Baker is still very much an independent filmmaker, however the success of The Florida Project – which earned Willem Dafoe an Oscar nomination – could get some big guns interested.
#Peace.Love.RedRocket
