Sundance buyers continued to circle Olivia Wilde’s chamber piece The Invite, Adrian Chiarella’s Australian horror Leviticus, and Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson’s fantasy romance Wicker on Monday as attendees braced themselves for another evening of big-ticket premieres.
Sustained early interest in these films, as well as Casper Kelly’s Midnight selection Buddy, John Wilson’s The History Of Concrete in Premieres, and Monday’s well-received debut of NB Mager’s darkly comedic Run Amok, have been among the highlights, as the cadence of the festival’s last hurrah in Utah has settled into the languid pace of business that has defined deal-making in recent years.
Talks were ongoing as industry executives prepared to leave town, although that itself has not been without challenges as several sources reported flight cancellations and delays out of Salt Lake City due to the severe winter storms that are ravaging the United States.
Buyers heed call of ’The Invite’
A24, Netflix and Focus Features are among those in the mix for The Invite, the dinner party dark comedy that debuted in Premieres at the Eccles Theatre on Saturday evening and stars Wilde, Seth Rogen, Edward Norton and Penelope Cruz. Rashida Jones and Will McCormack adapted the screenplay from the original 2022 Spanish comedy Sentimental by Cesc Gay, and production took place in Los Angeles last year.
UTA Independent Film Group represents US rights while FilmNation jointly represents US and handles international on the feature produced by Ben Browning, Megan Ellison and David Permut. Wilde’s third directorial outing follows her 2019 debut Booksmart, which earned $25m at the worldwide box office through UA Releasing, and 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling, which grossed $87.6m for Warner Bros.
’Leviticus’, ’Wicker’, Monday premieres
Meanwhile Neon is understood to be in exclusive talks for Leviticus, the conversion therapy horror that debuted on Friday and was quickly cited as one to watch by distribution sources since its debut at The Ray Theatre. CAA Media Finance handles sales on that title as well as Run Amok, in which high school students put on a musical to commemorate the tenth anniversary of a fatal shooting at their school. Alyssa Marvin and Sophia Torres are among a cast that includes 1980s teen movie icon Molly Ringwald alongside Patrick Wilson and Margaret Cho.
Wicker, the quirky tale of a fisherwoman who asks a basketweaver to make her a husband has been a draw since it premiered at the Eccles on Saturday. Starring Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgard and Peter Dinklage, it is being sold in the US by UTA Independent Film Group and CAA Media Finance, with Black Bear handing international duties. Skarsgard also attends Sundance with A24’s mockumentary The Moment starring Charli XCX.
Heading into Monday evening, anticipation was building ahead of the world premiere of Padraic McKinley’s survival story The Weight in Premieres starring Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe (WME Independent sells worldwide and CAA media Finance jointly represents US).
Besides Run Amok, Josephine Decker’s Premieres selection Chasing Summer debuted earlier in the day and is being sold by UTA Independent Film Group and Cinetic. Buyers got their first look at Noah Segan’s The Only Living Pickpocket In New York on Monday and the crime thriller starring John Turturro gets its world premiere on Tuesday at the Eccles. MRC and T-Street, the longtime partners who created Knives Out, are behind the Berlinale-bound film.
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