In February 2016, it was reported that Chastain had launched her company.[1] In May 2017, Kelly Carmichael became a president of production and development. Carmichael, who had previously worked atMiramax and atThe Weinstein Company as a production executive.
Chastain in 2022
Under Freckle Films, Chastain produced and starred in the action filmAva (2020), written and initially set to be directed byMatthew Newton, who has been accused of domestic violence. Following backlash against her for agreeing to work with him, Newton was replaced withTate Taylor.[2][3] Boyd van Hoeij ofThe Hollywood Reporter bemoaned that Chastain's talents as an action star had been wasted in an underwhelming film.[4] Released theatrically during theCOVID-19 pandemic, it performed poorly at the box office but gained success onvideo on demand.[5] The film was released in Hungary on July 2, 2020.[6] It was released in the United States throughDirecTV Cinema on August 27, 2020, followed byvideo on demand on September 25, 2020, byVertical Entertainment.[7][8][9] It received a DVD and Blu-ray release in Australia on September 2, 2020, byMadman Entertainment.[10][11] It began streaming onNetflix on December 6, 2020.[12] It was the third most-watched film on the site on its first day of release and finished first in its second day.[13] It went on to become the top-streamed film over its first weekend.[14] In Hungary, the film made $31,820 from 59 theaters in its opening weekend, finishing first at the box office. The film grossed a total of $3.3 million worldwide.[15] In its debut weekend in the U.S.,Ava was the most rented film onApple TV andGoogle Play, and second onFandangoNow.[16] In its second weekend the film topped Apple TV, Google Play, andSpectrum, and remained second at FandangoNow.IndieWire described the performance ofAva as "the best showing for a non-premium title in the six months we've covered weekly VOD performance."[5]
The company then entered production onThe Eyes of Tammy Faye, starring Chastain andAndrew Garfield.The Eyes of Tammy Faye had its world premiere at theToronto International Film Festival in September 2021, and was released on September 17, 2021, bySearchlight Pictures. To look like Bakker, Chastain wore prosthetic makeup which took 4–7 hours to apply.[17] The role also required her to sing, which she has said made her nervous.[18] She worked with the music producerDave Cobb to record seven songs for the film's soundtrack.[19] David Fear ofRolling Stone found Chastain to be the "only reason to see this curiously tepid biopic" and praised her for rising above the script to humanize Bakker.[20]Kevin Maher ofThe Times considered it to be a "riveting, unleashed and award-worthy performance" and compared it toJoaquin Phoenix's performance inJoker (2019).[21] Critics praised the performances (particularly Chastain's) while criticizing the screenplay, deeming the film to be inferior to the documentary. At the94th Academy Awards the film wonBest Actress (for Chastain) andBest Makeup and Hairstyling. Chastain also won theSAG Award andCritics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress.
In 2018, Chastain and a group of international actresses travelled toCannes Film Festival to pitch an all female ensemble spy film,The 355.[22]Universal Pictures acquired the rights to the film at $20 million.[23] It was released on January 7, 2022. In 2022, the company purchased the rights to adapt the novelThe School for Good Mothers as a television series.[24]
Freckle Films and Chastain then executive produced theShowtime biographical miniseriesGeorge & Tammy, in which she played the country singerTammy Wynette opposite Michael Shannon'sGeorge Jones.[25][26] In preparation, Chastain and Shannon trained with a vocal coach to sing several of their character's songs. She also lost weight to play Wynette toward the end of her life.[27] Emma Fraser ofThe Playlist was appreciate of the chemistry between the actors, and took note of the "fragility and toughness" in Chastain's portrayal.[28] The series had strong viewership across various platforms, marking a high for a Showtime original series in multi-platform era.[29] She won anotherSAG Award, a Golden Globe nomination and earned her first nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Awards forOutstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie; the series also received three other nominations.[30][31][32]
^Hoeij, Boyd Van (August 23, 2020)."'Ava': Film Review".The Hollywood Reporter.Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. RetrievedAugust 23, 2020.
