The Mise En Scene Firm has boarded worldwide gross sales on “Forelock,” a darkish comedy toplined by David Krumholtz and Caleb Alexander Smith, with Smith making his solo directorial debut on the venture.
Smith wrote and helmed the Los Angeles-set movie, wherein he stars as a wannabe health coach whose resemblance to a serious film star attracts the eye of Krumholtz’s Hollywood Boulevard con artist character. The duo’s partnership spirals into legal territory in what’s being billed as a satirical tackle Hollywood goals gone mistaken.
For Krumholtz, the venture represents his first starring automobile following his acclaimed supporting flip in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” The versatile actor has constructed a fame via collaborations with auteur filmmakers together with the Coen Brothers and Seth Rogen, most lately incomes reward for Rogen’s Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ collection “The Studio.”
The actor’s upcoming slate features a position as Zor-El in DC Studios’ 2026 tentpole “Supergirl,” Scott Cooper’s Bruce Springsteen biopic “Ship Me from Nowhere,” and A24’s “Altar.”
Smith has tv credit together with “Brooklyn 9-9” and “Trendy Household.” He’s set for a recurring position in Ryan Murphy’s Hulu collection “All’s Honest,” which stars Naomi Watts, Glenn Shut and Kim Kardashian. He beforehand directed 2017’s “The Spearhead Impact” alongside Brandon Moore.
The supporting forged options Emily Swallow (“The Mandalorian”) and Chloe Farnworth, who appeared in A24’s “MaXXXine.”
The acquisition marks a serious coup for Mise En Scéne, which has operated for 5 years and is positioning itself as a major world gross sales agent with the deal.
“That is the form of movie that provides you religion in the way forward for cinema — one thing each passionate movie firm goals of engaged on,” stated Paul Yates, CEO of The Mise En Scene Firm. “It has the aptitude of ‘Inherent Vice,’ the murky depths and romance of ‘Midnight Cowboy’ and the comedic brilliance of ‘Withnail and I.’ You realize while you’re 15 and falling in love with cinema, and also you see a movie that stays with you for the remainder of your life? ‘Forelock’ is that movie.”
“Forelock” is the inaugural manufacturing from Midnight Chimes, the brand new shingle launched by sports activities broadcaster Lindsay McCormick and Smith. McCormick produces with Russ Hammonds (“The Diplomat,” “Boardwalk Empire”) and Krumholtz govt producing. Midnight Chimes LLC co-financed the indie.
“Mise En Scene offered us with a daring, tenacious, but nimble imaginative and prescient for bringing ‘Forelock’ into the world,” McCormick stated. “As we weighed choices for a worldwide gross sales accomplice, MSC stood out for his or her style, ingenuity, and the pristine monitor report they’ve constructed as businesspeople. Unbiased filmmakers put a lot on the road when crafting a movie, and ‘Forelock’ is not any exception. From capturing throughout Los Angeles at a time when few dare, to elevating a major funds exterior the standard packaging system, ‘Forelock’ is constructed to occupy uncommon area within the movie ecosystem: an auteur-driven work with extensive viewers enchantment.”
The manufacturing shot fully on location in Los Angeles with BAFTA-nominated DP Roberto Schaefer (“Quantum of Solace,” “Stranger Than Fiction”) and veteran gaffer Jim Plannette (“Braveheart,” “E.T.”). The movie was among the many first tasks to renew manufacturing following the 2023 business strikes.
With on-location filming in Los Angeles down greater than 30% over the previous 5 years, the producers positioned the venture as a love letter to the town’s contradictions.
“LA always finds itself on the heart of nationwide controversy, and ‘Forelock’ provides a satirical however unflinching have a look at the town,” McCormick famous. “From über-hip galleries on Abbot Kinney to homeless encampments lining Hollywood Boulevard, we needed the film to wade into the contradictions of a metropolis teetering between fantasy and freefall.”
Yates and Rory MacDonald negotiated for Mise En Scene, with David Roth figuring out the acquisition. McCormick dealt with the deal for Midnight Chimes.
The gross sales firm will debut “Forelock” to pick out consumers on the Toronto Worldwide Movie Pageant.
