EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures Classics has taken its fourth Sundance Film Festival feature this year with the David Wain-directed comedy Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass.
The deal for the pic’s global rights was negotiated between Sony Pictures Classics and WME Independent on behalf of the filmmakers. We hear there were about seven offers on the movie including Paramount/Republic Pictures, Lionsgate and Vertical. To date, Sony Pictures Classics has acquired out of this year’s Sundance Stephanie Ahn’s Bedford Park, Josef Kubota Wladyka’s Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty and Noah Segan’s crime thriller The Only Living Pickpocket in New York.
Gail Daughtry, which was shot entirely in Los Angeles, stars Mad Men‘s Jon Hamm and John Slattery in a big-screen reteam alongside Zoey Deutch (Nouvelle Vague), Ken Marino (The Residence), Miles Gutierrez-Riley (Smile 2), Ben Wang (Karate Kid: Legends), Joe Lo Truglio (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Sabrina Impacciatore (The White Lotus).
Sony Pictures Classics
Small-town hairdresser Gail Daughtry is engaged to her devoted high school sweetheart, Tom. Her life takes a turn when a trip to a book signing leads to Tom meeting – and sleeping – with his “celebrity pass.” Reeling from the betrayal, Gail impulsively joins her friend Otto on a trip to Los Angeles, where a psychic convinces Gail that the only way to save her marriage is to “even the scales” with her own celebrity pass: Jon Hamm. Thus begins an epic journey through Tinseltown as Gail and Otto join forces with a talent agency assistant, a paparazzo, and actor John Slattery, all in the search for Hamm. Along the way, they collide with celebrities and are hunted by a group of Italian assassins as they get ever closer to finding the elusive star.
Wain (Wet Hot American Summer, Role Models) wrote the movie with longtime collaborator Marino. The pic notched 74% fresh reviews on Rotten Tomatoes out of its Sundance premiere.
Wain said, “I think we’re all hungry to have more movies in theaters that are designed to provide laughter and joy, first and foremost — and I can’t wait for audiences to experience this very first chapter in the GDU (Gail Daughtry Universe)!”
“To have our film embraced by Sony Pictures Classics, a company that has championed visionary filmmakers for decades, is incredibly special. I am deeply grateful for their passion and support and excited to work together on this,” added producer Crystine Zhang.
“Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is the most hilarious comedy we have seen in ages with one of the most incredible and surprising indie casts any film could ask for. In a time when audiences need to smile, David Wain has delivered an entertainment that will have audiences’ cheeks hurting from all their laughs,” said Sony Pictures Classics.
The film is produced by Anthony Bregman, Peter Cron, Marino, Wain, Zhang and Charles Zhong. EPs include Robert Herjavec, Chechen Dong, Tom Griffin, Amanda Chang, Adrian Politowski, Jamie Canniffe, Franny Baldwin, Deutch, Hamm and Slattery.
Additional notable film creatives include cinematographer Kevin Atkinson (A Futile and Stupid Gesture), production designer Justin Lieb (Stranger Than Fiction), editor John Daigle (Plus One), costume designer Bryn Carter (A Tree Fell in the Woods), and composer Craig Wedren (School of Rock).
