Aman Goyal
Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield’s first film together promises to be an intense psychological drama unfolding on British soil! The filming of Luca Guadagnino’s highly anticipated ‘After the Hunt’ started on July 8 in the United Kingdom, with additional shoots planned to take place in San Francisco and Connecticut. The Cinemaholic can also reveal that the plot centers on Alma Olsson (Roberts), a 40-something Swedish-American who is on the verge of becoming Yale’s youngest tenured professor, with her only rival being her admired friend, Henrik (Garfield). At a dinner with her disciples and distant husband, Frederik, standout student Maggie, who idolizes Alma, reveals her dissertation rumors of excellence.
The plot escalates when, the next day, Maggie accuses Henrik of raping her after walking her home. Alma is torn between supporting Maggie or believing Henrik, who claims that Maggie has plagiarized her work and threatened to expose their affair. As Henrik is fired, Maggie publicly criticizes Alma’s lack of support, forcing the latter to protect her reputation and a hidden secret her student may uncover.
Guadagnino is known for his visually stunning and emotionally rich dramas that explore human relationships. His most popular works include ‘Call Me by Your Name’ and ‘Suspiria.’ Guadagnino’s recent release ‘Challengers’ generated significant praise for the filmmaker who has a busy schedule ahead, with at least five more films — ‘Burial Rites,’ ‘Queer,’ ‘Separate Rooms,’ ‘The Lord of the Flies,’ and ‘Find Me’ — at various stages of development or production. He will also be helming episodes of the upcoming television series ‘The Shards.’
Roberts, one of the biggest superstars in Hollywood since ‘Pretty Woman,’ is no stranger to similar conspiracy thrillers. Having starred in Prime Video’s ‘Homecoming,’ ‘Secret in Their Eyes,’ ‘The Pelican Brief,’ and ‘Erin Brockovich,’ the last of which won her an Academy Award for Best Actress, she has plenty of valuable experience and a formidable presence in the genre. Roberts recently starred in Netflix’s dystopian drama ‘Leave the World Behind’ and the rom-com ‘Ticket to Paradise,’ which reunited her with ‘Ocean’s’ trilogy co-star George Clooney. The actress will also be seen in the upcoming film ‘Little Bee.’
Garfield, best known for his roles in ‘The Social Network‘ and Sony’s ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ series, has been reaching new heights in his career following the releases of FX’s true crime drama ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ which gained him critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including nominations at both the Academy and Primetime Emmy Awards. His return as the wallcrawler in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ was also noteworthy.
Also starring in the film is Ayo Edebiri, who received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance as Sydney Adamu in FX on Hulu’s acclaimed drama ‘The Bear.’ Her other significant credits include ‘Big Mouth,’ ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,’ and ‘Bottoms.’ She will feature alongside Chloë Sevigny (‘We Are Who We Are’ and ‘Big Love’), Michael Stuhlbarg (‘A Serious Man’ and ‘Call Me by Your Name’), Lio Mehiel (‘Mutt’ and ‘WeCrashed’), Ariyan Kassam (‘Legion’), and Will Price (‘Goosebumps’). The film is penned by Nora Garrett in her screenwriting debut.
‘After the Hunt’ is expected to be released in theaters next year. Its production in the United Kingdom will be joined by the summer schedules of other feature films such as Jan Komasa’s ‘Good Boy,’ Chloé Zhao’s ‘Hamnet,’ and Martin Freeman-starrer ‘Flavia de Luce.’ San Francisco previously hosted the shooting of Tom Cruise’s ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and Apple TV+’s ‘The Last Thing He Told Me.’ On the other hand, Connecticut is featured in Adam Sandler’s ‘Uncut Gems.’
