Just a little over a month after it hit the market, Amazon MGM‘s United Artists has scooped up the rights to “Lizard Music,” which is the next film from Benny Safdie that will reunite him with Dwayne Johnson. Clearly the box office disappointment for their first collaboration “The Smashing Machine” did nothing to dampen the excitement for their next team-up.
“Lizard Music” though is even stranger, a book adaptation that concerns lizard musicians from outer space that will star The Rock as a guy in his seventies known only as Chicken Man, mainly because he has a beloved companion named Claudia who happens to be a 111-year-old chicken. The film follows a boy who discovers a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music, opening him up to an entirely new world of wonder that leads him to Chicken Man, who is also aware of the lizard musicians and teams up with the boy in order to find this hidden society.
The book is from cult author Daniel Pinkwater and is from 1976, and Safdie is both writing and directing.
Though this is just Safdie’s second solo movie as a director without his brother Josh, this is something of a big break from A24, which has been the home for “Good Time,” “Uncut Gems,” and “The Smashing Machine” all before this. A24 also co-produced Safdie’s series he co-created with Nathan Fielder, “The Curse” that aired on Showtime. It’s unclear if A24 was also in on acquiring the package, but IndieWire understands Amazon MGM picked it up in a competitive situation.
Scott Stuber, who runs United Artists, has worked with both Johnson and Safdie before. The Rock has starred in a handful of mega Netflix hits, including one of the streamer’s biggest hits “Red Notice,” and Safdie also appeared in “Happy Gilmore 2” at Netflix. Stuber is producing for UA with Nick Nesbitt, and Safdie will also produce for Out for the Count Productions, as will Johnson for Seven Bucks Productions, and David Koplan for Magnetic Fields Entertainment.
For Johnson, just after bulking up even more for “The Smashing Machine,” he’s been slimming down (at least for his standards) in order to play the septuagenarian Chicken Man. Anyone who has seen him on the red carpet at Venice or elsewhere during the “Smashing Machine” awards campaign would notice that he looks a little gaunter than usual, and that is all by design.
“The Smashing Machine” has been a surprise disappointment, a bigger swing by A24 in terms of budget that did not pan out at the box office. The film carries a $50 million budget and has made just $17.1 million at the box office in over two weeks in theaters. It’s the lowest opening of The Rock’s career by far and a letdown for a movie that also has serious awards ambitions.
“We are so thrilled to partner once again with extraordinarily talented Dwayne Johnson, as well as work for the first time with the amazing creator, writer, and director Benny Safdie, on ‘Lizard Music.’ Everyone at Amazon MGM and UA is deeply inspired by their previous collaboration on the critically acclaimed ‘The Smashing Machine.’ We are so excited to now collaborate with them on this imaginative, entertaining, and cinematic story; ‘Lizard Music’ is a tale that feels both timeless and unique. We are very fortunate that they have trusted us to be their studio partners,” Courtenay Valenti, Head of Film, Streaming and Theatrical, Amazon MGM Studios, said in a statement.
“I’ve been lucky enough to work with Dwayne and Benny on multiple projects and have seen firsthand their incredible talents and connection as artists. The world they’ve created together for ‘Lizard Music’ is unlike anything either has done before, and we couldn’t be more excited to bring this wonderfully imaginative story to life,” Stuber added.
“I couldn’t be more excited to go on this journey with Amazon MGM studios and United Artists. ‘Lizard Music’ is a book I read to my two sons and we were riveted by its imagination and wonder. I love Daniel Pinkwater as a person and an author; the idea of making a movie where everyone can join the conversation is both thrilling and beautiful. To go on this adventure with Dwayne and to be able to watch him transform and become the Chicken Man is just beyond… I can’t wait,” Safdie said.