‘Worms’ Director Alex Phillips, Producer Eddie Linker Set Erotic Thriller ‘Anything That Moves’ (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentBuoyed by the reception at Fantasia of his feature debut, “All Jacked Up and Full of Worms,” one of the fest’s buzz titles, Chicago-based writer-director Alex Phillips has set his follow-up, “Anything That Moves.”The announcement comes just after “Worms” won a special mention at the 2022 Fantasia Awards, unveiled July 25.Slated to shoot in Feb.

2023, in another fillip for Phillips’ burgeoning career, “Anything That Moves” is produced by Eddie Linker, a seminal figure on Chicago’s film scene who has executive or associate produced notable work from high-profile independent directors.These take in Joe Swanberg (2017 Netflix Original “Win It All,” with Jake Johnson); Alex Ross Perry (2015’s psychological breakdown tale “Queen of Earth, with Elizabeth Moss; 2018 Brooklyn ensemble portrait “Golden Exits”); Josephine Decker (Sundance and Berlin player, “Madeline’s Madeline”) and Zach Clark (2016 SXSW hit “Little Sister”).

Described by Philipps as “another adventurous low-budget project, “Anything That Moves” turns on a beautiful and innocent food delivery boy who bikes through Chicago having sex for money until he gets caught up in a string of murders that traces back to someone in his bed.“It’s sort of ‘Repo Man’ meets Radley Metzger, with a whiff of ‘Bad Lieutenant,’” Phillips told Variety.“Alex makes movies which are very rare but make a statement and that’s no easy feat,” Linker told Variety. “He makes movies that people are going to talk about and that’s the kind of what I want to be associated.