Elizabeth Banks & John C. Reilly Thriller ‘DreamQuil’ Pre-Sells To Paramount’s Republic Pictures; HanWay To Continue Sales In Cannes With Filming Underway

Andreas Wiseman

May 7, 2024 at 11:12 a.m.·2 min read

EXCLUSIVE: Republic Pictures has acquired North American rights to DreamQuil, the psychological thriller starring Elizabeth Banks and John C. Reilly.

The pre-sale was negotiated by UTA Independent Film Group and CAA Media Finance with Sejin Croninger, Executive Vice President at Paramount Worldwide Acquisitions.

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Filming is now underway in LA on the movie, which marks the debut of U.S. filmmaker and contemporary artist Alex Prager. HanWay will continue sales at the Cannes market next week.

Set in the not so distant future, pic charts the story of Carol (Banks), a dissatisfied career mother, who is struggling to find real connection within her marriage to Gary (Reilly) and to her child. Worried that she could be heading towards divorce, Carol leaps at the chance to get her life back on track by signing up for DreamQuil’s unconventional digital wellness retreat. However, things take a sinister turn upon Carol’s homecoming, and the story has been described as a cautionary tale about what happens when Artificial Intelligence and automation are integrated into our daily lives.

HanWay has closed international deals with The Jokers (France), TFG (Greece), Mars (Turkey), MCF (Former Yugoslavia), Arthouse Traffic (Ukraine), Front Row (Middle East), Cinesky (Airlines) and Shaw (Singapore).

Patriot Pictures will now produce alongside Brownstone Productions, Landay Entertainment, and Big Valley Pictures. Michael Mendelsohn (Lord of War) of Patriot Pictures will join producers Elizabeth Banks, Max Handelman and Alison Small for Brownstone Productions (Pitch Perfect), Alex Prager of Big Valley Pictures, and Oscar nominee Vincent Landay (Being John Malkovich) of Landay Entertainment.

Mendelsohn’s Union Patriot Capital affiliate is financing the film. Executive producers include Natalie Perrotta, Scott Putman, Marc Marrie, Matt Aselton and Mal Ward.

Prager reteams with Oscar-nominated editor Matt Chessé (Quantum of Solace) and Grammy-winning music producer Nigel Godrich as composer. Additional HODs joining the production include production designer Annie Beauchamp (Black Mirror) and cinematographer Lol Crawley, BSC (White Noise).

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