Amazon Acquires THE NEON DEMON, Plus New Elle Fanning Image

Amazon acquires Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon, plus New Elle Fanning image

Amazon Studios has acquired Nicolas Winding Refn’s anticipated The Neon Demon and will release it theatrically stateside next summer. The film has also released a gory new image of star Elle Fanning (Super 8, Maleficent), which you can check out in the gallery below!

Co-written by Mary Laws and Refn, The Neon Demon stars Elle Fanning, Keanu Reeves, Christina Hendricks, Jena Malone, Abbey Lee and Bela Heathcoat. It centers on an aspiring model (Fanning) who moves to Los Angeles where her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will go to any lengths to get what she has.

Speaking about the genesis of the film, Refn said, “One morning I woke and realized I was both surrounded and dominated by women. Strangely, a sudden urge was planted in me to make a horror film about vicious beauty. After making ‘Drive’ and falling madly in love with the electricity of Los Angeles, I knew I had to return to tell the story of ‘The Neon Demon.’”

The Neon Demon is being jointly handled by Gaumont and Wild Bunch, who previously joined forces on Refn’s last film Only God Forgives, which competed at Cannes Film Festival in 2013. Gaumont and Wild Bunch co-financed and will co-distribute The Neon Demon, which Refn’s partner, Lene Borglum (Valhalla Rising, Only God Forgives) produced under their Danish banner Space Rocket.

Refn won best director at Cannes in 2011 with Ryan-Gosling starrer Drive which has become a near-cult movie and a major critical success. The Neon Demon brings together Refn’s regular creative team: Editor Matthew Newman and composer Cliff Martinez. “The Grandmaster”‘s cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd completes the key crew .

Amazon Studios was launched in June to acquire original movies for theatrical release and early-window distribution on Amazon Prime Instant Video. The Neon Demon is one of the first acquisitions scored by the banner. Their first release will be Spike Lee‘s pic Chi-Raq next month.