2024 is proving to be a big year for the Shyamalan family. Earlier this year,Ishana Night Shyamalanmade her directorial debut withthe twisted horror featureThe Watchers, and now her fatherM. Night Shyamalanis returning to theaters with his latest,Trap. While the star of the film isJosh Hartnettas a father, who also happens to be a serial killer known as “The Butcher,” taking his daughter to a concert, it also offers a chance for another of the acclaimed director’s children to take the spotlight —Saleka Shymalan. She brought her real-life singing skills to the silver screen as the fictional pop sensation Lady Raven and, in an interview with Collider’sSteve Weintraub, she described how one of her favorite days of filming linked her withKid Cudi, akaScott Mescudi, for an especially pivotal moment in the movie.
Trapsees a tense storyline unfold during a Lady Raven concert, as the eventis entirely a front for an operation to lure “The Butcher"and lock down the premises with a heavy police presence. The pop star’s songs also tie in directly with what’s going on in the plot, making Raven an even bigger part of the story despite primarily remaining on-stage. Considering it’sa real concert performance with an entire 14-track album composed by Salekafor the occasion, that left the door open for some real guests to join her on-stage and add to the film. She said performing with Mescudi was the perfect way to cap off recording for the film, especially since they sang a song he co-wrote with her.
From a story perspective, their performance also felt to Saleka as if it was a strong end cap for part of the film. She explained how excited she was to shoot it all, saying:
“I can’t wait would probably be the Kid Cudi song, which was our last day shooting the concert. It was just so much fun, and it was the completion of this incredible project. There were two parts of the movie and one of them was this concert that we spent so long preparing for. So, when we shot the Kid Cudi song, getting to dance with him and play with him and just have fun and have a great time on stage was just a surreal experience. This song that we wrote together, I love so much. It kind of felt like wrapping up the first half of the movie.”
‘Trap’ Isn’t the First Time Saleka and M. Night Shyamalan Have Collaborated
Shyamalan and her father have worked together on films before, including on the soundtrack forOldand his Apple TV+ seriesServant. However,Trapwill mark her official acting debut alongside a cast that also featuresAriel Donoghue,Hayley Mills, andAlison Pill. Even beyond her acting, the film was a close collaboration between her and M. Night Shyamalan that brought her world of concerts and performance together with the director’spenchant for twists and thrills. The director previously assured that they crafted something togetherthat will leave viewers guessingas they find out more about The Butcher through his attempts to escape the police’s snare.
Trapis now in theaters. Check out the link below to get tickets for Shyamalan’s latest.
Trap is a film by writer-director M. Night Shyamalan under his Blinding Edge Pictures label. The film is part of a deal struck with Warner Bros for him to direct and produce several films under their banner.
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