Zoë Kravitz on Why Pussy Island Title Changed to Blink Twice


Zoë Kravitz will make her directorial debut later this summer with Blink Twice. During the film’s development, the original title was Pussy Island. Despite wanting to keep Pussy Island, Kravitz reluctantly changed the name to Blink Twice after facing backlash over the original title.

“It was made very clear to me that ‘pussy’ is a word that we, our society, are not ready to embrace yet,” Kravitz told Entertainment Weekly. “There were a lot of roadblocks along the way, whether it be the MPAA not wanting to put it on a poster, or a billboard, or a kiosk; movie theaters not wanting to put it on a ticket.”

Kravitz believed that Pussy Island was an empowering title for women. However, Kravitz learned that the title had the opposite effect on females.

“Interestingly enough, after researching it, women were offended by the word, and women seeing the title were saying, ‘I don’t want to see that movie,’ which is part of the reason I wanted to try and use the word, which is trying to reclaim the word, and not make it something that we’re so uncomfortable using,” Kravitz explained. “But we’re not there yet. And I think that’s something I have the responsibility as a filmmaker to listen to. I care about people seeing the film, and I care about how it makes people feel.”

“When tech billionaire Slater King meets cocktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala, sparks fly. He invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. It’s paradise. Wild nights blend into sun soaked days and everyone’s having a great time. No one wants this trip to end, but as strange things start to happen, Frida begins to question her reality. There is something wrong with this place. She’ll have to uncover the truth if she wants to make it out of this party alive,” says Blink Twice’s official synopsis.

Blink Twice stars Naomi Ackie as Frida and Channing Tatum as Slater King. The ensemble includes Alia Shawkat, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Christian Slater, Kyle MacLachlan, and Geena Davis.

Kravitz directs Blink Twice on a script she co-wrote with E.T. Feigenbaum. Producers include Kravitz, Tatum, Bruce Cohen, Tiffany Persons, and Garret Levitz. Amazon MGM Studios will distribute Blink Twice in the United States.

Blink Twice opens in theaters on August 23, 2024.

(Source: Entertainment Weekly)