Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway’s Thriller ‘Mothers’ Instinct’ Picked Up by Neon

Upcoming psychological thriller “Mothers’ Instinct” has officially been acquired by Neon for U.S. release.

Belgium director Olivier Masset-Depasse remakes his 2018 film “Duelles” for an American audience, now starring Academy Award winners Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain. Both Oscar winners serve as producers, along with Chastain’s producing partner Kelly Carmichael under their Freckle Films banner. The film is fully financed by Anton and principal photography is set to begin May 25.

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Set in the 1960s, “Mothers’ Instinct” centers on best friends and neighbors Alice (Chastain) and Celine (Hathaway), who live in a suburban paradise. Both are mothers to two sons of the same age, and their idyllic domestic happiness is shattered after a tragic accident. Guilt, suspicion, and paranoia bleed into their friendship as a psychological battle of wills gives way to a darker side of the maternal instinct.

Director Masset-Depasse won a record-breaking nine Magritte Awards from the Belgian Academy including Best Film and Best Director for the original. “Mothers’ Instinct” is based on the novel “Derrière la Haine” by novelist Barbara Abel. Writer Sarah Conradt (“50 States of Fright”) adapted the English language script. Since optioning the original film and book and having fully financed this film from development through packaging, Anton will also be handling all international rights.

“Mothers’ Instinct” is also produced by Paul Nelson at Mosaic and Jacques-Henri Bronckart. Producer and financier Anton is fully financing the project with Anton’s Founder and CEO Sébastien Raybaud overseeing the project with Anton’s John Zois, President of Production, who negotiated the deal with CAA. CAA Media Finance arranged the film’s financing and represented the project’s domestic rights alongside Anton.

Lead star Hathaway most recently appeared in the critically acclaimed AppleTV+ series “WeCrashed,” and stars in James Gray’s upcoming “Armageddon Time” opposite Anthony Hopkins and Jeremy Strong, which will premiere in Official Competition at Cannes.

Chastain won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the biopic “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” She also stars in “The Forgiven” and will next portray country singer Tammy Wynette in the musical biopic “George and Tammy” for Spectrum Originals and Paramount+.

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