X (2022): The Secret Prequel Shot on the Same Farm #shorts

X (2022) is set on a Texas farm in 1979, but Ti West shot it in New Zealand, and then secretly made its prequel, Pearl, on the same farm.

X was written and directed by Ti West for A24, with Mia Goth playing both Maxine and the elderly Pearl. Because of the pandemic, the production went to New Zealand, which had almost no community Covid cases, “to chase the summer,” as West put it. According to the Los Angeles Times, West wrote Pearl during his mandatory two-week quarantine on arrival, and it was greenlit by the time X started filming in February 2021. X shot from mid-February to mid-March 2021, based at a farm in Fordell near Whanganui, where the crew built a barn and a bunkhouse. Instead of tearing the sets down, they repainted and re-wallpapered everything; within weeks (West recalls about three; the New Zealand Film Commission says a month), the decrepit 1979 farmhouse became a bright 1918 farm for Pearl, again starring Mia Goth. Pearl was revealed in March 2022, when X premiered at SXSW (March 13) and opened in US theaters (March 18), and Pearl followed on September 16, 2022.

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Films mentioned: X (SXSW March 13, 2022; US March 18, 2022; written and directed by Ti West; A24) and Pearl (US September 16, 2022; directed by Ti West, co-written with Mia Goth; A24).

Sources:
– New Zealand Film Commission, X production page (Fordell farm, barn built, Whanganui/Otaki/Foxton/Wellington, “chase the summer”): nzfilm.co.nz/films/x
– New Zealand Film Commission, Pearl production page (shot a month after X wrapped, reused farmhouse, barn and bunkhouse, “paint and wallpaper”): nzfilm.co.nz/films/pearl
– Los Angeles Times, “X ending explained” (March 14, 2022; secretly shot back to back; written during two-week quarantine): latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-03-14/x-prequel-pearl-mia-goth-ti-west
– Uproxx, Ti West interview (about three weeks between shoots; 13 months in New Zealand): uproxx.com/movies/ti-west-interview-pearl-x/
– Wikipedia, X (2022 film) (credits, shooting dates February 16 to March 16, 2021, release dates)
Note: the gap between the two shoots is reported as about three weeks to a month.

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