Los Angeles, CA (September 27, 2021) – Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions have acquired North American rights to Phillip Noyce’s thriller LAKEWOOD starring Naomi Watts. Premiering at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, the Boies Schiller Entertainment and Limelight funded production is slated for release in the first quarter of 2022.
LAKEWOOD is the story of Amy Carr (Watts) desperately racing against time to save her child Noah (Colton Gobbo) as authorities place her small town on lockdown due to an active shooter incident.
Vertical‘s Peter Jarowey and Roadside‘s Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff commented, “We are thrilled to be back in business together to release Phillip Noyce’s tense and timely thriller LAKEWOOD in early 2022. We all saw it in Toronto and agreed it would be the perfect collaboration. The combination of Phillip’s storytelling and Naomi Watts’ incredible talent will make a great start to 2022.”
LAKEWOOD is directed by award-winning director Phillip Noyce, written by Chris Sparling and stars Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts, Colton Gobbo and newcomer Sierra Maltby. The film is produced by David Bois, Andrew Corkin, Alex Lalonde, Chris Parker, Zack Schiller, Dylan Sellers, Chris Sparling, Naomi Watts and executive produced by Devin Andre, Alex Dong, Theo James, Aaron Kaplan, Tyler Zacharia. The production team includes composer Fil Eisler, director of photography John Brawley, editor Lee Haugen, production designer Zosia Mackenzie, art director John O’Regan, set decorator Karen Churma and costume designer Amanda Lee Street.
The film was shot on location in the North Bay of Ontario, Canada.
Peter Jarowey negotiated the deal on behalf Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions. UTA Independent Film Group, CAA Media Finance and Endeavor Content negotiated on behalf of the filmmakers.
ABOUT VERTICAL ENTERTAINMENT
Founded in 2012, Vertical Entertainment has become a leading global independent distributor releasing films across all mediums. Vertical’s unique combination of full-service marketing and highly effective sales services provides collaborative solutions for filmmakers, as the company leverages creative and platform relationships to maximize revenue streams from all content providers.
Current and upcoming Vertical Entertainment releases include John Pollono’s directorial debut Small Engine Repair starring Jon Bernthal, Shea Whigham, Jordana Spiro and Ciara Bravo; Sabrina Doyle’s debut feature Lorelei starring Jena Malone and Pablo Schreiber; and Sundance premiere Wild Indian written and directed by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. and starring Michael Greyeyes, Kate Bosworth and Jesse Eisenberg.
Vertical’s past successes include Channing Godfrey Peoples’ Miss Juneteenth, starring Nicole Beharie in her Best Actress Gotham Independent Film Award-winning performance and four Independent Spirit Award nominations including Best Female Lead and Best First Feature, and NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture; Best Picture Golden Globe Award nominee Music, directed by Sia and starring Best Actress Golden Globe Award nominee Kate Hudson; Eytan Rockaway’s Lansky starring Harvey Keitel and Sam Worthington; the Toronto Film Festival Midnight Madness breakout Shadow in the Cloud, directed by Roseanne Liang and starring Chloe Grace Moretz; The Informer, with Andrea Di Stefano directing the star-studded cast of Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike, Common, Clive Owen, and Ana de Armas; Robin’s Wish, the revelatory account of iconic comedian Robin Williams’ final days, directed by Tylor Norwood; Tate Taylor’s Ava with John Malkovich, Geena Davis, Joan Chen, Colin Farrell and Jessica Chastain and Yes, God, Yes, directed by Karen Maine and starring Natalia Dyer and Timothy Simons. Chris Kelly’s Other People, with Molly Shannon in her Independent Spirit Award-winning performance; and Babak Anvari’s BAFTA and British Independent Film Award-winning thriller Under the Shadow.
ABOUT ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS
Since its founding in 2003, Roadside Attractions’ films have grossed over $300 million and garnered 23 Academy Award® nominations. Recent film include the Oscar®-winning Judy, starring Renee Zellweger, and the No. 1 independent film of summer 2019, The Peanut Butter Falcon. Their faith-based I Can Only Imagine was the No. 1 independent film of 2018 with a gross of $83.5 million. The company has released such critical and commercial hits as Manchester by the Sea, Ben Is Back, Beatriz at Dinner, Whitney, Stronger, Love & Friendship, Hello, My Name Is Doris, Mr. Holmes, Love & Mercy, A Most Wanted Man, Dear White People, The Skeleton Twins, All Is Lost, Mud, Winter’s Bone, The Cove, Arbitrage, Margin Call and Super Size Me.
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