The Lookbook for 'The Substance' is a 1980s Fever Dream

When you're taking a movie out for financing or to find buyers, a lot of times, you'll enter the marketplace with both a spec screenplay and a lookbook.

The lookbook winds up being a visual document that outlines the kinds of things someone may see on screen if they paid to make the movie. You can have prospective actors in there, parts of the plot, and most importantly, visceral images that let people know what they're going to get.

This week, executive producer Alexandra Loewy was on the Hollywood Gold podcast, where she talked about the making of the 2025 Oscar-nominated horror film, The Substance.

Inside the pod, it was revealed that writer/director Coralie Fargeat spent two years writing an incredibly detailed script as well as an 80-page lookbook with striking visual references.

You can read The Substance screenplay here.

Well, we tracked down the lookbook and have it here for you.

I think there are lots of lessons we can learn from this, namely how smart and efficient it is to go out strong into the market for financing with a fully fleshed-out plan. Of course, that plan should include a script that pops but it should also include a clear vision that is articulated well enough to put on paper.

Let me know what you think in the comments.