Manifest Pictures has boarded international sales ahead of the American Film Market on the horror pic BOUTIQUE, produced by and starring two-time Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti (The Debut, The Holdovers) with BAFTA award winner Simon Pegg (Mission: Impossible and Star Trek feature franchises) set to co-star opposite Giamatti. The announcement was made today by Manifest Pictures’ co-CEOs Yvette Zhuang and Zach Glueck. UTA Independent Film Group will rep domestic rights.
Giamatti and Dan Carey will produce through their company Touchy Feely Films (“Outsiders”), alongside Chris Dodds, Charlie Alderman, and Greg Field for Prospect (Fantasy Life), and James Harris and Mark Lane for Tea Shop Productions, the production company behind the recent breakout horror hit Obsession, which grossed more than $500 million worldwide. Prospect is financing, and Jacob Jaffke (Maxxxine) serves as executive producer.
Boutique marks writer-director Jim Gavin’s feature debut, reuniting him with Touchy Feely, producers of the AMC quirky comedy-drama series “Lodge 49,” which Gavin created and show ran.
The film follows an American tourist (Giamatti) who travels to the eerie English seaside town that inspired the work of his favorite reclusive author (Pegg), only to become entangled with a murderous secret society permeating the whole town.
“Cults have long fascinated us, and BOUTIQUE taps into that intrigue with a wickedly original exploration of the pull these secretive societies have always had on our imaginations,” said Manifest.
“Jim has delivered something distinctly fresh while capturing the thrills of classics from Psycho to Hereditary,” James Harris from Tea Shop added.
“BOUTIQUE is dark, hysterical, and utterly twisted. We are honored to help realize Jim Gavin’s gothic fever dream,” Prospect commented.
“We feel lucky to work with Jim again at this moment in his career. He came to us fully formed as a storyteller, with a natural talent for shaping actors’ performances and building unique worlds on screen. As producers on Lodge 49, Paul and I witnessed Jim’s deft hand managing large teams, significant budgets and all the machinery required to bring an ambitious, original piece of work to life,” said Dan Carey.
Giamatti won the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award and was nominated for the SAG, BAFTA and Academy Award for Best Actor for Focus Features’ The Holdovers. He currently stars opposite Julianne Moore in Jesse Eisenberg’s dark comedy musical The Debut. Giamatti will next be seen in two-time Oscar-winner Tom McCarthy’s upcoming comedy-drama, A Statement.
BAFTA winner Simon Pegg is best known for his recurring roles as Benji Dunn in the Mission: Impossible series of films and Scotty in three Star Trek feature films, as well headlining and co-creating the iconic Cornetto Trilogy of British comedies. Pegg will next feature in Season 3 of Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” as the voice of the Balrog.
Giamatti is repped by UTA, Kipperman Management and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Pegg is repped by Dawn Sedgwick Management; Gavin is repped by UTA and Anonymous Content.
