Blink Twice Just Came Out, But Zoë Kravitz Says She Already Wants To Make Another Movie With Channing Tatum

When I found myself at a frat party surrounded by smelly bros during my freshman year of college, I turned to my roommate before separating and said, “Blink twice if you need to get out of here.” Zoë Kravitz’s slick directorial debut, in theaters Aug. 23, borrows the first two words of the phrase and delivers 102 minutes of nonstop thrills that include boozy pool parties, psychological deception, and some third-act poetic justice courtesy of leading lady Naomi Ackie. You might even compare the viewing experience to riding a rollercoaster — Channing Tatum did, Kravitz tells NYLON.

Originally titled Pussy Island, Blink Twice follows cater-waiter Frida (played by the brilliant Ackie) as she attempts to woo the disgraced tech billionaire Slater King (Tatum) alongside her best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat). The women end up on a trip to King’s private island where the debaucherous rich-people antics they get caught up in quickly go south. The movie touches on gendered power dynamics that could be read as an homage to girlboss-era feminism, but Kravitz says it’s simply about power. “Why do we have to add these words in front or behind the word ‘power’ when that's really the thing I want to explore?” Kravitz says, adding that she chose to make the antagonist a tech billionaire because they’re the “new rock stars” topping the hierarchy of haves and have-nots.

At the same time, Kravitz says she brought levity to the story to balance the heavier topics — and her dark sense of humor really shines, like when Frida doom-scrolls on TikTok while sitting on the toilet, or when she stealthily communicates during an uncomfortable situation using just her eyebrows. “It's all funny because it's true,” Kravitz says. “You watch this and think, ‘Oh my God, we do that. It's so f*cked up and funny that we do that.’”

The film also marks Ackie’s first role as a scream queen. “Zoe would just be like, ‘Hey, I need you to be really scared right now,’ and I would just start hyperventilating in the Mexican sun,” says Ackie, who cites Toni Collette in Hereditary as inspiration. To add to the claustrophobic energy, the entire crew stayed in the same mansion where the movie was shot, a decision Kravitz initially made for logistical purposes but that ended up bringing the actors closer together. Ackie says the experience was akin to summer camp, during which Kravitz would take the cast into Merida, the nearest town, for drinks, dancing, and even a private screening of her favorite ensemble film, Boogie Nights.

When asked about future directing possibilities, Kravitz says she’s adamant about casting the same stars à la her favorite director Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis. And while it’s too early to start thinking about her next move, she did say she and “Chan,” as she calls her partner, will work together again.