Bleecker Street announced today that it has acquired North American rights to The Friend, from award-winning writer/directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel (The Deep End, What Maisie Knew, Bleecker Street’s Montana Story) and starring Naomi Watts (“Feud: Capote vs. The Swans,” Mulholland Drive), Bill Murray (Lost in Translation, Rushmore) and a remarkable Great Dane named Bing. The film’s ensemble cast also includes Sarah Pidgeon (Stereophonic, “The Wilds”), Carla Gugino (“The Fall of the House of Usher”, San Andreas), Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians, Hustlers), Noma Dumezweni (“The Undoing”, “The Wilds”) and Ann Dowd (Hereditary, Bleecker Street’s Mass).
The Friend world premiered to critical acclaim at the Telluride Film Festival earlier this fall, and was one of the few films to play the “trifecta” of Telluride, Toronto and New York Film Festivals. Described by Deadline as a “moving, funny, humane and quite unforgettable tale,” and currently holding a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film was adapted for the screen by Siegel & McGehee from Sigrid Nunez’s National Book Award-winning novel of the same name. (Nunez’ novel was also recently included in the New York Times’ list of the “100 Best Books of the 21st Century.”) The Friend was produced in New York City by McGehee, Siegel and Mike Spreter under the group’s recently formed Big Creek Projects production banner, alongside producer Liza Chasin and her 3dot Productions. Executive producers include Margaret Chernin and Naomi Watts. Bleecker Street is planning an early 2025 theatrical release.
In The Friend, writer and teacher Iris (Watts) finds her comfortable, solitary New York life thrown into disarray after her closest friend and mentor (Murray) dies suddenly and bequeaths her his beloved 150 lb. Great Dane. The regal yet intractable beast, named Apollo, immediately creates practical problems for Iris, from furniture destruction to eviction notices, as well as more existential ones, his looming presence constantly reminding her of her friend’s problematic choices in both life and death. Yet as Iris finds herself unexpectedly bonding with the animal, she begins to come to terms with her past, her lost friend, and her own creative inner life.
The film marks Bleecker Street’s second collaboration with Siegel & McGehee, having handled the US release of their 2021 neo-Western drama Montana Story, starring Haley Lu Richardson and Owen Teague.
Bleecker Street founder and CEO Andrew Karpen said: “The Friend is a quintessential New York story, featuring incredible writing and emotional performances that honor the power of friendship, facing grief, and especially the singular comfort animals provide. As a New York-owned and operated company, we are the perfect home for this film and can’t wait to reteam with Scott and David to bring it to audiences next year.”
“We’re thrilled with how people have connected with our film, and we’re very so happy to be re-teaming with Bleecker Street who are such champions of both independent filmmaking and theatrical distribution. We cannot wait for them to introduce audiences to The Friend in local cinemas next year,” said Siegel & McGehee.
The deal was negoti
