CinemaCon got a dose of The Weeknd on a Tuesday morning.
The global superstar, aka Abel Tesfaye, hit the Colosseum stage inside Caesars Palace to close out Lionsgate’s studio presentation and help promote his new film, Hurry Up Tomorrow, from Trey Edward Shults. The filmmaker joined co-star Jenna Ortega in introducing the exclusive set as Ortega called the singer “our incredibly talented friend and collaborator.”
The show-stopping appearance, which featured the hit smash “Blinding Lights,” comes ahead of the May 16 release of the film. In what marked a rare moment for the CinemaCon crowd, all the exhibitors, theater owners and attendees were on their feet by the end of the performance. “I love you CinemaCon,” The Weeknd said as the strobe light-filled show came to a close.
Back to the business at hand. During their time on stage, Shults was asked for his description of the film, and he admitted that even he thinks its genuinely hard to describe. He settled on a few words calling it a singular, visceral cinematic experience that is very soulful. He said that he and Tesfaye hit it off immediately and “he’s like family now.” They “jive and push each other,” Shults continued, adding that they never settle and “equally push” one another in their creative pursuits.
Ortega then came out on stage and explained how she first read the script and was immediately taken by it. A scene featuring a possession caught her eye, and when she met with Shults, she found herself pitching herself for that scene only to find out that he wanted her for the female lead of Annie. “I said, ‘That’s cool, too,’” Ortega said to laughter.
The in-demand star was then asked to talk about who her character is in the context of the story, and she revealed that the character of Annie is short for anima, which she called the feminine part of a brand. “She’s kind of Abel, in a sense,” she said, adding that it represents the “conversations that he’s been neglecting of himself.” Rather than specific traits, “it feels like an experience or a feeling. When you go into [the movie] with that mentality, it makes a lot of sense.”
Directed by Shults from a script by the filmmaker with Tesfaye and Reza Fahim, Hurry Up Tomorrow is inspired by The Weeknd’s latest album of the same name. It casts him as a musician plagued by insomnia who winds up being pulled into an odyssey with a stranger and the relationship unravels the core of his existence. He stars opposite Ortega and Barry Keoghan. Tesfaye and Fahim also produced through their company Manic Phase with the late Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss.
Tuesday’s appearance follows the February release of the trailer, seen below. The album Hurry Up Tomorrow delivered the final chapter in the pop star’s trilogy after 2022’s Dawn FM and 2020’s After Hours. Shults previously wrote and directed Krisha, It Comes At Night and Waves.
CinemaCon, the annual gathering of cinema owners and Hollywood studios, is hosted in Las Vegas by the newly rebranded Cinema United, which for decades was known as the National Association of Theatre Owners. This year’s edition runs from March 31 to April 3.
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