Sasha Lane

The first Sundance 2018 lineup announcement is here with new films starring Robert Pattinson, Hilary Swank, Armie Hammer, and more.

In honor of the newcomers in ‘The Florida Project,’ we’re celebrating the best non-professional movie performances, from ‘American Honey’ to ‘City of God.’

The Hellboy reboot is happening, and while it’s difficult to remove Guillermo del Toro’s unfinished version of the character’s tale from our minds, the new movie is setting up quite an exciting cast roster to make up for it. Today brings news that American Honey star Sasha Lane is in final negotiations to join Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen.

It’s been a year since American Honey premiered at Cannes, and the film’s breakout star Sasha Lane has lined up her next high-profile project. Lane will star in Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire follow-up Freakshift, and fight giant subterranean crab-monsters alongside Alicia Vikander and Armie Hammer.

It’s always exciting to see the latest work from a beloved director, or to watch a great actor return to a classic role. But one of the most underrated pleasures of going to the movies is discovery; watching an actor you’d never heard of before surprise you with their incredible range or charisma, or realizing, in real time, that you’re witnessing the work of a major new artist. It really doesn’t get much better than that.

Only months after temporarily dropping out of the acting game to take some time for herself and “reassess” her choices, Chloe Grace Moretz has signed on to star in the onscreen adaptation of The Miseducation of Cameron Post, a coming-of-age novel dealing with gay conversion therapy.

What makes American Honey so effective is the cast of mostly unknown, amateur stars, including the film’s magnetic lead, Sasha Lane. Despite having no acting experience, Lane comes off like a pro; her chemistry with co-star Shia LaBeouf feels tangible, and there’s an effortless quality to the way she conveys emotion without saying anything at all. We spoke with Lane in Austin ahead of the film’s premiere at Fantastic Fest, where she was just as lovely in person as she is on screen.

Imagine if Larry Clark was a woman, capable of depicting the inner lives of disenfranchised youth with all the psychic nuance and sensitivity estrogen could provide. Imagine a road trip through Middle America as presented by Claire Denis; now imagine that the brutal emotional intensity and distinct feeling of dread remain intact, while the threat of grotesque acts of violence lurk on the periphery, merely imagined and never realized. If you can imagine that, you might come close to approximating the experience of watching American Honey, the latest stumbling-of-age drama from Fish Tank director Andrea Arnold.