We thought with M3GAN, it would be great if she was just very still, so there’s almost an economy of movement there,” Johnstone said. “She’s quite reptilian; she only moves when she needs to.” Gardner, Chris (December 8, 2022). " 'M3GAN' Premiere Featured Eight Look-Alike Dolls Dancing to Taylor Swift Song in Now-Viral Moment". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022 . Retrieved December 9, 2022. Myers, Randy (January 5, 2023). "What to watch: 'M3GAN' wants to be more than another creepy doll story". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on January 5, 2023 . Retrieved January 5, 2023. With all this in mind, M3GAN's supervising puppeteer Adrien Morot deliberately made the doll straddle the line between real and fake. After I first saw the movie, we had a good sense that a sequel might really work. We broke our cardinal rule. I felt so bullish that we started entertaining a sequel earlier than we usually do," he told Variety.

M3gan – Production List | Film & Television Industry Alliance". productionlist.com. June 2021. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022 . Retrieved July 21, 2021.a b Yamato, Jim (January 7, 2023). "Puppets, fake tears, an 11-year-old dance phenom: How 'M3GAN' came to life". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023 . Retrieved January 14, 2023.

Donald, 12, has performed movie stunts before and is also a professional dancer — in fact, she represented New Zealand at the Dance World Cup in 2019, at just 9 years old. She won silver and bronze, becoming the first performer from New Zealand to win a medal at the competition. Domestic 2023 Weekend 3". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023 . Retrieved January 23, 2023. Weiss, Josh (February 17, 2023). " 'M3GAN' is getting an unrated version as horror hit sets Blu-Ray, digital release - what you need to know". SyFy. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023 . Retrieved February 17, 2023.Not initially in the script written by Akela Cooper, Johnstone had the idea to integrate a dance moment in the film, tapping into the young actor’s skills. He gave Donald and her dance teacher Kylie Norris a set of guiding concepts for a scene in which she hunts Ronny Chieng’s David down the hallway of his own toy company, and the duo choreographed the moves that later made “M3GAN” go viral on TikTok. Sam Mendelsohn (January 12, 2023). " 'Avatar: The Way of Water' To Rule MLK Weekend; 'Plane' & 'House Party' Open While Hanks' 'A Man Called Otto' Expands". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023 . Retrieved January 14, 2023. But it’s M3GAN’s dancing that’s really set the internet on fire. The idea came to Johnstone as one of those ideas one only stumbles upon while severely sleep deprived—but the choreography, he said, came from Donald and her dance instructor. “I gave them a brief, thinking that it would be sort of like a disco shuffle,” he said. “And they just completely ran away with it.”

M3GAN came to life through a mixture of CGI, puppetry and real actors. Amie Donald performed the movements for M3GAN's body while wearing an animatronic mask, while Jenna Davis voiced the deadly doll.a b Rooney, David (January 4, 2023). " 'M3GAN' Review: Allison Williams Tangles With a Rogue Robot in Fun AI Horror That's Equal Parts Campy and Creepy". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023 . Retrieved January 5, 2023. Transform yourself into a terrifying toy nanny with this officially licensed Adult M3gan Costume Mask! The molded mask wears an unnerving expression and has small view ports drilled through its blue-painted eyes. Brown synthetic hair is attached to the top of the accessory and comes pre-styled in a center part and loose waves. Dance It Out a b Stephan, Katcy (January 9, 2023). "Building M3GAN: How Animatronics, Puppetry, VFX and a Child Actor Created a New Doll Icon That Slays". Variety. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023 . Retrieved January 14, 2023. M3GAN (pronounced "Megan") is a 2022 American science fiction horror film directed by Gerard Johnstone. It was written by Akela Cooper from a story by Cooper and James Wan (who also produced with Jason Blum). Allison Williams and Violet McGraw star, Amie Donald physically portrays M3GAN, and Jenna Davis voices the character. Its plot follows an artificially intelligent doll, who develops self-awareness and becomes hostile toward anyone who comes between her and her human companion.

Luke and I were like, ‘This girl is a machine,’” Johnstone recalled. “You can give her anything, and she can do it.”

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In post-production, Donald's physical performance as M3GAN was enhanced by digital visual effects by the New Zealand–based effects studio Wētā Workshop. [15] Speaking about the design of M3GAN, Johnstone stated that he "looked to screen icons from the '50s like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Kim Novak for inspiration. But I wanted some '70s naturalism to counteract her synthetic nature, so the hair is one hundred percent Peggy Lipton." [16] Release [ edit ] Gleiberman, Owen (January 4, 2023). " 'M3GAN' Review: A Robot-Doll Sci-Fi Horror Movie That's Creepy, Preposterous and Diverting". Variety. Archived from the original on January 5, 2023 . Retrieved January 5, 2023. In July 2018, The Hollywood Reporter announced that production was underway for a "techno horror-thriller" titled M3GAN to be produced by James Wan and Jason Blum. Gerard Johnstone was confirmed to direct while Akela Cooper wrote the screenplay and story, with Wan. Shooting was scheduled to begin in late 2018. [6] Filming [ edit ] The teaser poster for the film was unveiled at the 2022 CinemaCon. The first trailer was released on October 11, 2022, set to Taylor Swift's " It's Nice to Have a Friend". After its premiere, a clip of M3GAN dancing gained widespread attention on social media platforms like TikTok. The viral moment helped to build buzz for the film's release. [5] [20] [21] The second and final trailer was released on December 7, 2022, set to Bella Poarch's " Dolls". In the final film, M3GAN dances to "Walk the Night" by Skatt Brothers. [22] On January 8, 2023, Williams revealed that she and the marketing team at Universal had debated whether to include the scene in the trailer or save it for when audiences saw the film in theaters. She told The Hollywood Reporter, "When we saw the first cut of the trailer, we were all hemming and hawing about whether or not to let the dance be out in the trailer or try to keep it as a surprise in the movie ... And boy, the forces of marketing at Universal were right to keep it in the trailer, because it just helped, honestly." [23] Home media [ edit ] Tinoco, Armando (January 9, 2023). " 'M3GAN' Screenwriter Says Original Script "Was Way Gorier" & Unrated Version "Is On The Books" ". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023 . Retrieved January 14, 2023.