Numerous people from all over the world congregate in a western American city each year to view movies, meet agents, look for the next Hollywood comeback story, and make opulent purchases. We’re not referring to the Sundance Film Festival, either. We’re referring to the American Film Market, or AFM, which annually takes place in Santa Monica, California, and serves as a platform for significant film industry purchase deals.
There were a lot of well-known films that were discussed during the 2022 AFM in November. The Undertaker, featuring Ann Dowd from “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Replay,” starring Olivia Munn, and “Thelma,” starring Kathy Bates were among the films on the event’s schedule. But right before the show started, two additional celebrities joined a popular crime drama with an exciting mystery at its centre. Guy Pearce and Jeffrey Dean Morgan will now star in “Neponset Circle,” a film that promises doom and gloom and a grisly murder inspired by actual events (via Variety). Here is all the information we currently have about the movie.
When will Neponset Circle be released?
Since “Neponset Circle” is still in pre-production, a release date has not yet been announced. However, it already had a strong cast before Guy Pearce and Jeffrey Dean Morgan arrived, so there shouldn’t be many production hiccups. Stephen Dorff (“True Detective”), David Boreanaz (“Bones”), and Stephen Lang (“Officer Down”) were among the actors in the movie written and directed by John Chase (“Avatar,” “Avatar: The Way of Water”). “Massholes,” a 2000 film written and filmed by him, follows four high school students through a single day in Massachusetts (via IMDb). While the movie didn’t have much of an impact on the mainstream cultural landscape, it did solidify his reputation as a raconteur of Massachusetts-based tales. “Neponset Circle” is appropriately placed in Boston.
The movie already has a talented cinematographer working behind the lens. In the Oscar-winning film “Get Out,” Toby Oliver, who previously collaborated with Guy Pearce on “33 Postcards,” contributed his talent for ominous lighting and camera movements.
What is the plot of Neponset Circle?
While it is known that “Neponset Circle” will be based on a true crime that has gone unsolved and has upset the Boston community, it is unknown which historical Boston murder will be featured in the movie. But there are some hints in the movie’s synopsis.
The film, a dark thriller, will follow the brilliant investigator Jimmy O’Mannon as he attempts to rebuild his life after being just released from prison. O’Mannon finds himself in an intensifying nightmare after helping his closest buddy and former partner identify a serial killer. As O’Mannon and his partner Ray Delaney pursue the case, the death toll only rises.
Of course, the Boston Strangler comes to mind when thinking of Boston-based serial killers. The Boston Strangler, later identified as Albert DeSalvo, was the assassin who killed 13 women in the Boston, Massachusetts, area in the 1960s. In addition, there were two murders that were initially linked to DeSalvo but were never solved (via The Boston Globe). The information sounds generally similar to the “Neponset Circle” official narrative.
Who is starring in Neponset Circle?
Guy Pearce and Jeffrey Dean Morgan are expected to play the two detectives who form the movie’s core, Jimmy O’Mannon and Ray Delaney, though their exact roles are still unknown. Pearce has, of course, portrayed a number of troubled characters in the past (the main character in “Memento” comes to mind); as a result, he seems to be a perfect match for O’Mannon. Pearce will also fit well in with the plot of the film because he has already featured in crime thrillers, most recently in “Mare of Easttown.”
On the other hand, Morgan has primarily based his career on television parts. His first major role was the sad Denny Duquette on “Grey’s Anatomy,” while his most recent notable role was Negan Smith, who he played for several seasons on “The Walking Dead.” The next time we’ll see him is in “The Boys” season 4.
Who is directing Neponset Circle?
In fact, “Neponset Circle” serves as something of a reunion for many of the participants. In addition to Guy Pearce and Toby Oliver, who previously worked together on “22 Postcards” (2011), Pearce also reunites with the new movie’s director, Pauline Chan. Chan directed both Pearce and Oliver in “22 Postcards,” which may not have been a coincidence. Prior to that, Chan was a director of various films in the 1990s, including the Mimi Rogers–starring television film “Little White Lies.”
Prior to the occasion, Chan was the subject of a statement from The Exchange, the production firm that represented “Neponset Circle” at the American Film Market.
According to Nat McCormick, president of global sales and distribution at The Exchange, “With this gripping and bone chilling mystery at its core, audiences across the globe will flock to Pauline’s fresh vision, which will be executed by Guy Pierce and Jeffery Dean Morgan, who could not be more perfectly cast in their roles.” In other words, there is a lot of hope for this project, which should excite Pearce and Morgan fans.
But while we wait for a teaser or further information on the story of the movie, we’ll have to make do with vintage snippets of Pearce beguiling Kate Winslet in “Mare of Easttown.”
