EXCLUSIVE: The Into the Wild actor is starring in the indie horror movie Woozy which starts shooting this month in New Jersey. Emile Hirsch will star in the Joey Bicicchi directed and written feature, which reps the filmmaker’s feature directorial debut.
Woozy is billed as a movie that tells of unhealthy coping mechanisms and the battle against fears, depression, phobias, and delusions. Hirsch plays Dusty, who has deliberately structured his life, through meditation, yoga, boxing, nutrition, and hygiene, to create a clean and safe environment. What happens when Dusty’s flawless system fails? Woozy appears – a horrifying apparition who torments Dusty.
Keith Kjarval (upcoming Tin Soldier and The Ark and the Aardvark, Dragged Across Concrete, Rudderless) is producing through his Unified Pictures label. Lalit Bhatnagar (One Amazing Thing) through his Imagination Infinite production company and Gary Michael Schultz (What They Had, Rudderless) are also set as producers on the film with Emberlight Studios as executive producer. Rudy Mancuso (Musicá, The Flash) is set to be the film’s Composer.
Keith Kjarval
Azi Rahman
“Woozy is from the brilliant mind of an artist I love and have collaborated with many times. What Joey has created is an intense cinephile-horror film that takes the very real mental health dilemma many face and creates a horror figure that represents the physical manifestation of the torment so many people deal with. And Emile is the perfect artist to immerse the audience in such a complex and terrifying experience” said Kjarval.
“In my youth, I found it challenging to understand and express my emotions. My reluctance to seek help led me down a difficult path, where my deepest fears seemed to lurk around every corner. This experience inspired Dusty’s story. In the film, Woozy becomes the catalyst that drives Dusty to fight for his life with newfound determination. My aim in creating this work is to help viewers feel a sense of connection and to affirm that it’s entirely acceptable to voice their fears, no matter how daunting they may appear,” said Bicicchi.
Woozy is the 2nd project launching in August for Kjarval. He’s also in pre-production with The Beast starring Samuel L. Jackson and Joel Kinnaman. The film’s title refers to its subject: a presidential limousine nicknamed “The Beast” by the Secret Service. The impenetrable tank is stocked with grenades, shotguns, armor plating and bullet- and bombproofing. When a militia of unidentified hostiles coordinates a coup against the U.S., the president (Jackson) uncovers the extent of The Beast’s highly classified offensive capabilities. Separated from his wife, the president must learn to control The Beast — and the monster inside himself — in order to save his life, the life of Secret Service agent Taft (Kinnaman), and America.
Bicicchi’s credits as an actor include the upcoming Tin Soldier with Jamie Foxx, Robert DeNiro, and Scott Eastwood as well as No Way Out (2023) opposite Maia Mitchell and Bill Macy’s Rudderless.
Hirsch is represented by UTA and Stride Management. Bicicchi is represented by HG5 Entertainment. Mancuso is represented by WME, Sugar23, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox.