EXCLUSIVE: Justin Chon (Blue Bayou) is negotiating to helm 20th Century Studios’ upcoming science fiction movie, Capsule.
The current draft of the movie, which was written by Elijah Bynum of Magazine Dreams fame, centers on a young computer entrepreneur whose life is completely upended when he starts inexplicably receiving metallic capsules with messages from his future self.
After presenting Ian Shorr’s original concept to 20th Century Fox in 2013, Hutch Parker will co-produce for Hutch Parker Entertainment with John Zaozirny.
With two critically acclaimed Sundance indies, the dramas Gook (2017) and Ms. Purple (2019), distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films and Oscilloscope, respectively, actor-director Chon made his feature film debut. The latter is a moving movie about a Korean American sibling connection; the former is a black-and-white drama that follows two Korean American brothers during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Chon made his feature directorial debut with the 2015 comedy Man Up. He has also directed the music-world drama Jamojaya, which debuted at Sundance 2023, and Blue Bayou (2021), a Focus Features drama that explored the hardships of a Korean adoptee facing deportation and debuted at Cannes.
Chon became well-known as an actor thanks to his portrayal of Eric Yorkie in The Twilight Saga. He has appeared in several of his own projects as well as TV shows and movies, including Sin City Saints, Deception, and 21 & Over.
The celebrated bodybuilding drama Magazine Dreams, which Bynum is the writer and director of, was temporarily put on hold due to accusations of abuse and other charges against its star, Jonathan Majors. At the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, the film received overwhelmingly positive reviews and took home the U.S. Majors’ dramatic Special Jury Award and generating Oscar hype. In the midst of the Majors dispute, Searchlight abandoned the project after winning it in a fierce bidding fight. After being purchased by Briarcliff Entertainment last fall, the movie is finally scheduled to open in theaters on March 21.
The A24 crime drama Hot Summer Nights, which starred Timothée Chalamet, who was just off his breakthrough performance in Call Me by Your Name, marked Bynum’s feature directorial debut. In addition, he co-wrote Lee Daniels’ horror thriller The Deliverance for Netflix, which came out in August of last year.
WME, McKuin Frankel Whitehead, and Blue Marble Management are Chon’s representatives. CAA, Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment, and Myman Greenspan Fox are Bynum’s representatives.
