How B.J. Novak''s new thriller ''Vengeance'' reveals the ''uncomfortable'' history of Six Flags
Midway through B.J. Novak''s directorial debut, Vengeance , there''s a scene that''s guaranteed to inspire gasps — and dark laughs — from unsuspecting audiences. And the writer-director of the heady new thriller, which explores the fault lines that routinely trigger the divide between Red and Blue America, tells Yahoo Entertainment that reaction is 100 percent intentional. "If I had my version of an ''Applause'' sign that I could hold up to the audience, it would say ''Gasp — dark laugh,''" Novak says of how he hopes viewers respond to Vengeance , which opens in theaters July 29 after premiering at the Tribeca Festival earlier this year. "It''s a moment that reminds you, ''Hey, it''s complicated out there.''" The scene in question involves a national pop culture landmark that both sides of America thought they could agree on: the Six Flags theme park chain. In the film, Novak plays Ben Manalowitz, a New York-based journalist who decides to turn an extended trip to Texas to attend an ex-girlfriend''s funeral into an epic Serial -style podcast when he starts to suspect that her untimely death by drug overdose may not have been accidental.
How B.J. Novak''s new thriller ''Vengeance'' reveals the ''uncomfortable'' history of Six Flags
Midway through B.J. Novak''s directorial debut, Vengeance , there''s a scene that''s guaranteed to inspire gasps — and dark laughs — from unsuspecting audiences. And the writer-director of the heady new thriller, which explores the fault lines that routinely trigger the divide between Red and Blue America, tells Yahoo Entertainment that reaction is 100 percent intentional. "If I had my version of an ''Applause'' sign that I could hold up to the audience, it would say ''Gasp — dark laugh,''" Novak says of how he hopes viewers respond to Vengeance , which opens in theaters July 29 after premiering at the Tribeca Festival earlier this year. "It''s a moment that reminds you, ''Hey, it''s complicated out there.''" The scene in question involves a national pop culture landmark that both sides of America thought they could agree on: the Six Flags theme park chain. In the film, Novak plays Ben Manalowitz, a New York-based journalist who decides to turn an extended trip to Texas to attend an ex-girlfriend''s funeral into an epic Serial -style podcast when he starts to suspect that her untimely death by drug overdose may not have been accidental.