LOS ANGELES, CA | April 17, 2018 – Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Content Group has purchased North American rights to Hannah Fidell’s road trip comedy “THE LONG DUMB ROAD”, which made its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Fidell and co-written by Fidell and Carson Mell, the film stars Tony Revolori, Jason Mantzoukas, Taissa Farmiga, Grace Gummer, and Ron Livingston, and is produced by Fidell, Jacqueline Ingram, Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams.
THE LONG DUMB ROAD follows college-bound teenager Nat (Revolori), who offers itinerant 30-something mechanic Richard (Mantzoukas) a ride during a stop-over in small-town Texas. Nat, an aspiring photographer, is heading towards a bright future in art school in Los Angeles and wants to find the real America en route to new beginnings out West; Richard, a lovably unkempt motormouth, is simply looking for connection in the moment — and maybe a beer or ten — while he grapples with indecision, past mistakes and dead-ends. As they travel through the American Southwest, taking in picturesque towns and crossing paths with an assortment of old flames, fellow travelers, kooky cons, and Good Samaritans, both passengers come alive through the myriad possibilities of the open road. Finding connection, comfort and chaos in their shared journey, this improbable and unforgettable screen duo forges an epic bond few will forget.
Critical response to the film out of Sundance has been positive, with special praise for both the comic pairing of Mantzoukas and Revolori and for Mantzoukas in a leading role. Elizabeth Weitzman of the Wrap applauded the two as “unflaggingly delightful companions”, writing, “Mantzoukas and Revolori are ideally cast, bouncing off each other with a salty-sweet chemistry that’s as natural as it is entertaining.” Film School Rejects hailed the film as “the next great American road trip comedy”, declaring it “delightfully weird, relentlessly funny, occasionally vulgar, and thoughtful in all the right ways.”
“This is a dream come true,” said director Hannah Fidell of the acquisition. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to work with Universal, a company that actually understands the value of diversity both in front of and behind the camera.”
THE LONG DUMB ROAD was executive produced by Mynette Louie, Alicia van Couvering, Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous, and Wendy Ettinger, and co-executive produced by Abigail E. Disney, Regina K. Scully, and Jenny & Douglas Patinkin. The film was financed by Gamechanger Films.
UTA and Anita Surendran of Gray Krauss Sandler Des Rochers LLP negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.
ABOUT UPHE CONTENT GROUP Headquartered in London, UPHE Content Group is a repertoire center of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, acquiring and producing multi-genre entertainment for distribution across theatrical, home entertainment, television and digital platforms on a worldwide basis. UPHE Content Group is part of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, a unit of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG) produces, acquires, markets and distributes filmed entertainment worldwide in various media formats for theatrical, home entertainment, television and other distribution platforms, as well as consumer products, interactive gaming and live entertainment. The global division includes Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Brand Development, Fandango, DreamWorks Animation Film and Television and Awesomeness. UFEG is part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment.
ABOUT GAMECHANGER FILMS
Gamechanger Films is the first film fund dedicated to exclusively financing narrative features directed by women. The company’s films include Jennifer Fox’s THE TALE (Sundance 2018), Christina Choe’s NANCY (Sundance 2018, Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award), Natalia Garagiola’s HUNTING SEASON (Venice Critics Week 2017, Grand Prize), So Yong Kim’s LOVESONG (Sundance 2016, Independent Spirit Award nominee), Karyn Kusama’s THE INVITATION (SXSW 2015), and Martha Stephens & Aaron Katz’s LAND HO! (Sundance 2014, Independent Spirit Cassavetes Award).
