Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller, and Ed Oxenbould are some of the hottest young property in cinema right now. Between them they have hit credits including The Visit (DeJonge and Oxenbould), Pan (Miller) and Paper Planes (Oxenbould). Aged only 17, 13 and 14 respectively, their faces represent a new young wave among Australian actors, and so it makes complete sense to cast them in the same film.
Safe Neighborhood which commences production this week at Sydney’s Fox Studios is described by its producer Brett Thornquest as “Home Alone meets Scream,” which is ironically what Home Alone would be if it were not a feel good comedy.
While DeJonge plays a babysitter defending a twelve year old boy (Miller) from strangers breaking into their house, Oxenbould plays Miller’s best friend.
Set in a quiet American suburb during the holiday season, the production has created a ‘white Christmas’ in the heart of Sydney to replicate a North American winter.
Directed by American Chris Peckover (Undocumented) who co-scripted the screenplay with Zack Kahn, the film is being co-produced by Storm Vision and Best Medicine Productions.
“Imagine taking the awkward, genuine teenagers from a John Hughes story,” says Peckover, “and then royally scorching their evening. This is my favourite kind of thriller, where bad decisions snowball into horrible ones with ghastly consequences.”
Producer Brion Hambel said, “With a taut whip-smart script, Chris’ vision and passion for the material and our incredible partnership with Storm Vision [who are now onto their fourth local genre picture, following Infini, Terminus and SFv1], we have a feeling this film will be on every genre fan’s bucket list around the world for years to come.”
Safe Neighborhood commences filming this week.
