Coming our way from Pangaea Studios and director Christopher J. Scott is the AI horror thriller Ed, which is currently filming in Atlanta, Georgia – and Deadline has learned that the film stars John Travolta, who received Oscar nominations for Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction, Crystal Reed of Teen Wolf: The Movie and Swamp Thing, and Chet Hanks of Running Point and Your Honor.
The film, which is said to be the first on a slate of genre-forward, filmmaker-driven projects at Pangaea, will tell us the story of a sentient AI chauffeur bot that escapes the lab and begins killing reckless drivers under the guise of public safety. Its grief-stricken creator must stop the carnage before the machine evolves into the embodiment of AI gone bad. So it sounds like a fun addition to the list of AI horror thrillers, which have been quite trendy lately.
This appears to be the first narrative feature for director Scott, whose previous credits have been on documentaries and reality programs. Judging by his IMDb page, it seems this project was going by the title Driver’s Ed at some point, and has a screenplay that was written by David Kukoff, who has earned writing credits on the short-lived TV series Thea and the TV movies Mr. Headmistress, H-E Double Hockey Sticks, Switching Goals (starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen), Model Behavior, and Campus Confidential. The only actor currently listed on the movie’s page is stunt performer KC Coy, as “Bridgette’s Dad.” Here’s a different version of the synopsis: Sentient crash test dummy seeks vengeance on reckless drivers causing anguish for his creator, a woman haunted by a tragic car accident. As he exacts havoc, he develops complex feelings for the engineer who built him.
Steve Greenberg, Anthony Short, and Rich Marincic are producing Ed, and Greenberg told Deadline, “We’re committed to bold storytelling that mixes big ideas with real emotion. Ed is exactly the kind of cinematic risk we’re excited to take.“
Does Ed sound interesting to you? Share your thoughts on this John Travolta / Crystal Reed / Chet Hanks AI horror thriller by leaving a comment below.
