The Cathy Yan directed absurdist comedy The Gallerist starring Jenna Ortega and Natalie Portman has its U.S. distribution rights acquired by Roadside Attractions and Vertical. The pic world premiered at Sundance earlier this year. The pic is set for a Dec. 4 theatrical release.
The MRC production also reteams Ortega with her Wednesday co-star Catherine Zeta Jones. The pic also stars Academy Award- winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Emmy Award winner Sterling K. Brown, 2x Emmy winner Zach Galifianakis, Daniel Brühl and Grammy winner Charli XCX.
Set against the glittering excess of Art Basel Miami, The Gallerist follows an ambitious gallery owner (Portman) clinging to the edge of elite society and desperate to prove herself on the heels of a nasty separation, facing mounting financial hardship. What begins as an impromptu act of survival—when she conspires to pass off an accidental corpse as the centerpiece of her debut show—spirals into a sly game of deception, spectacle, and ticking-clock chaos as influencers and police converge. Will she end up famous, a felon, or both?
Pic is written by James Pedersen (High Heat), produced by Ash Sarohia (Killing Gunther), Sophie Mas and Natalie Portman (May December, Arco), Jonathan King (Spotlight, Roma, Dreamgirls), Tom McCarthy (Stillwater, The Loudest Voice), Rae Baron (Stillwater, Alaska Daily) and Zola Elgart Glassman (High Heat).
“Cathy Yan’s wildly original film was a winner for us at Sundance; she assembled a phenomenal ensemble cast led Natalie Portman’s standout performance as a woman at the intersection of art and crime, revealing a dazzling comic edge along the way. It’s as fun as it is terrifying,” comments Roadside Attractions Co-Presidents Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff and Vertical CEO and Partner Peter Jarowey.
Yan’s debut feature, Dead Pigs, which she wrote and directed, won the Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. She went on to direct the 2020 Suicide Squad spinoff Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) which grossed over $205M WW before theaters were shut down due to Covid. Yan also directed an episode of the HBO series Succession, earning an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.
The deal was negotiated by Roadside Attractions Co-President Howar.
MRC’s productions include the Jacob Elordi and Robbie feature Wuthering Heights, G20 and All of You, and the upcoming The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, A Place in Hell, The Best is Yet to Come, Unabomer, and Eloise and 2023’s Saltburn, American Fiction, and Fair Play. MRC is also known for hit TV series such as Poker Face, Terminal List, Ted, Ozark and House of Cards.
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