A24 found “Friendship”.
The Indian powerhouse has secured U.S. distribution for Andrew DeYoung’s film “Friendship,” starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd, at the Toronto International Film Festival. The deal is said to be in the low-seven-figure range, a person with knowledge told TheWrap.
Robinson stars as Craig Waterman, a suburban dad whose life takes an unexpected turn when he befriends mysterious new neighbor Austin Carmichael, played by Rudd. Kate Mara, Jack Dylan Grazer, Josh Segarra, Billy Brick, Jason Vesey and John Glazer also star.
DeYoung also wrote the screenplay for the film, which was one of the highlights of this year’s TIFF, and the movie received rave reviews for how funny and uncomfortable it made audiences feel. (These are hallmarks of Robinson’s brand of comedy, particularly the Netflix sketch show I Think You Should Quit Smoking.) The film screened as part of the festival’s Midness Madness program.
“Friendship” was executive produced by Nick Weidenfeld, Rafael Margules, JD Lifshitz and John Holland. Rudd, Tracy Rosenblum, DeYoung and Alexis Garcia serve as executive producers. It is being repped by WME Independent and UTA for a national run and a fifth season. DeYoung is repped by Dan McManus/Ascent Management.
Earlier this week, HBO ordered a series from The Chair Company, which DeYoung served as executive producer and director. Robinson will executive produce and co-create the series alongside Zach Kanin, which will be produced by Adam McKay and Hyperobject.
It’s A24’s latest acquisition of the fall festival season, following the high-profile purchase of Daniel Craig’s The Queen from Luca Guadagnino ahead of its Venice premiere and Brady Corbett’s sprawling The Brutalist after it won the Silver Lion at Venice. (They beat out Searchlight and several other contenders for The Brutalist.)
