Killer Films Premieres Pretty Babies at Edinburgh as Christine Vachon Extends 35-Year Indie Run
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 19
Killer Films Premieres Pretty Babies at Edinburgh as Christine Vachon Extends 35-Year Indie Run
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 19
Summary
Pretty Babies made its world premiere at the Edinburgh film festival, giving Killer Films its latest release under producer Christine Vachon, 63.
Tyler-Marie Evans’s debut follows two teenage aspiring actors who flee to Los Angeles and drift into sex work, a story Vachon said fit Killer’s preference for personal, provocative films with a distinct point of view.
Killer, founded in 1995 with Pamela Koffler, has shifted from scandal-stirring titles such as Kids and Poison to broader acclaim, with Past Lives becoming its first best picture Oscar nominee and Materialists grossing $108 million.
Vachon said the company still uses its reputation to back first-time directors and reassure financiers, a role she has played for filmmakers including Todd Haynes, Mary Harron and John Cameron Mitchell.
That producing clout was tested after Joaquin Phoenix quit Haynes’s De Noche five days before shooting in 2024, but Vachon said Haynes and Pedro Pascal’s commitment helped revive the project, which has now finished shooting.
What really drove Joaquin Phoenix to abandon a major indie film days before shooting, and how did it secretly improve the movie?
Why does a legendary female producer still embrace being labeled difficult to protect her provocative, boundary-pushing films from Hollywood's pressures?
How did a catastrophic actor walkout and soaring US costs force an indie film legend to completely reinvent her latest project?