By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Production is set to start later this month in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Anova Pictures has announced its production of THIS IS NOT A TEST, based on the popular YA horror novel by New York Times best-selling author Courtney Summers. Adam MacDonald (BACKCOUNTRY, PYEWACKET, Netflix’s SLASHER) will direct, with Olivia Holt (HEART EYES, pictured), Froy Gutierrez (THE STRANGERS–CHAPTER 1) and Luke MacFarlane starring. The synopsis: “THIS IS NOT A TEST follows Sloane and four other students who take cover in Cortege High to escape a world plagued by the infected. As danger relentlessly pounds on the doors, Sloane begins to see the world through the eyes of people who actually want to live and takes matters into her own hands.”
“With such a beloved YA novel as our source material by Courtney,” says producer Cybill Lui, “and an incredibly talented cast in Olivia, Froy and Luke, I couldn’t be more excited to begin filming with Adam, whose work I’ve been a fan of since BACKCOUNTRY. It’s going to be an intense ride from beginning to end. We’re dead set on making an intense, emotional, and gripping film set in the ’90s–a BREAKFAST CLUB meets 28 WEEKS LATER–as we follow our heroine’s journey and ask ourselves, what do you hold onto when everything is gone?”
“We couldn’t be more excited to bring THIS IS NOT A TEST to audiences worldwide,” says Lisa Gutberlet, president of Blue Fox Entertainment, which is handling international sales. “The combination of Adam’s masterful direction and the compelling, young cast brings a fresh and dynamic energy to the YA horror genre. With its gripping narrative based on best-selling author Courtney Summers’ enthralling novel, THIS IS NOT A TEST is perfectly positioned to captivate international audiences. The film taps into the rising global appetite for elevated genre storytelling, combining strong commercial appeal with a fresh and thrilling YA horror experience.”
“As a longtime horror movie fan,” says Summers, “I’ve loved Adam Macdonald’s wildly intense and sharply realized contributions to the genre, and I’m thrilled he’s sharing his talents with THIS IS NOT A TEST. From its stellar script to its exciting cast, his and Cybill’s enthusiasm for the book and their passion for filmmaking has and continues to define every part of this process. I can’t wait to see the story come to life–or should I say death?–and claim its place in the zombie canon.”
