Insidious star Lin Shaye is playing a supporting role in Day for Night, Los Angeles-based Australian director Michael Chrisoulakis’ debut feature.
A psychological thriller set in Hollywood, the film follows a would-be actress as she pursues her dream, a journey which takes her into the murky LA underworld.
Arielle Brachfeld plays the actress, Priscilla, with Azim Rizk as Benny, a lovelorn mechanic who helps her in a plan to find hidden loot stolen by a bunch of criminals.
Shaye is cast as Cousins, an eccentric character with underworld connections. Chrisoulakis has already filmed her scenes and a further 12-day shot is planned for late next month.
Insidious: Chapter 3, which opens in the US and Australia in June, stars Shaye as gifted psychic Elise Rainier, who reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity.
The first two editions of the Insidious franchise created by James Wan and Leigh Whannell have grossed more than $US260 million at cinemas worldwide.
Day for Night is written by Guy J. Jackson, an LA -based writer whose first script, a horror movie, has been optioned by Sean S. Cunningham (Friday the 13th) at Crystal Lake Entertainment.
The producers are Californian native Kimmie Yan (The Devil’s Carnival) and UK/Australian ex-pat Kate Rees Davies (The Fiancé), whom the director met while he was working at Metro Screen in Sydney.
The cast also includes Camilla Jackson, Ashley Park, Ruben Pla, Julian Bane and JamieLee Ackerman.
“I’m so excited to be making my first feature film here in Los Angeles with this incredible group of people,” says Chrisoulakis. “As for the genre, I’ve always been drawn to noir films and Hitchcock thrillers – that’s where we’re looking for our inspiration.
“We're looking to target several festivals to premiere the film, such as Slamdance and SXSW, however we're eyeing the AFM as the market we'll take the film to for a sale. We're also hoping that with Lin's exposure in June we'll get some interest around then.”