EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise), emerging young actress Everly Carganilla (The Chair), and Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus) are leading under-the-radar drama The Accompanist, a magical realist story from Sound Of Metal and The Rider producer Caviar.
Actor, writer, director and comedian Zach Woods, who starred in the U.S. version of The Office and HBO’s Silicon Valley, is making his feature directorial debut.
Mister Smith Entertainment is handling international sales on the film, which is currently in post-production. CAA Media Finance and Gersh are handling North American sales.
The synopsis reads: “When 9-year-old Emily (Everly Carganilla) accidentally tells her school nurse that her dementia-stricken grandpa almost got them killed, a rookie child-welfare agent Sarah (Aubrey Plaza) is sent to their house to investigate. A botched extraction ensues and Emily is taken and placed with Sylvia, a new foster parent. Sylvia (Susan Sarandon) is mysterious, witchy, funny, and unpredictable. Her natural warmth and playfulness are complicated by the fact that she is haunted by visitations from her past. As Emily and Sylvia grow closer, their worlds, dreams, and visions begin to overlap. As their friendship deepens, they must decide how much they are willing to risk— whether their burgeoning love is worth the ghosts that it seems to summon.”
Produced in association with Aubrey Plaza’s Evil Hag Productions and Cinereach, the film’s screenplay was co-written by Woods and Brandon Gardner, both alumni of the US comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade. The pair have collaborated previously on short films including David, starring Will Ferrell, which was nominated for the Short Film Palme D’Or at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival and winner of the Grand Prix at the Bilbao International Film Festival of Short Films. The movie also reunites Woods and Gardner with actress Everly Carganilla, who starred opposite Michael Peña in their short film, Bud.
Producers include Michael Sagol, Allison Hironaka, Carlos Zozaya, Zach Woods, Aubrey Plaza and Lauren Bratman. Executive producers are Bert Hamelinck, Hannah Reyer, Vincent Newman, Vance Howard, Brandon Gardner, Avtar Khalsa, Corentin De Saedeleer, Dan Sbrega, Daniel “Dickey” Abedon and Philipp Engelhorn.
Zach Woods stated: “Life can feel so lonely sometimes. I think it’s worth telling stories about how scary, funny, and glorious it is when we’re brave enough to try to find our way to each other in the dark.”
Michael Sagol, Managing Director at Caviar, added: “Zach is both irrepressibly creative and irrepressibly funny. After seeing both of his short films we were floored by how well-crafted and moving the stories were, which led to us inquiring about what he was turning his attention to next – an amazing personal script called The Accompanist. We’re so proud to be bringing Zach’s first feature to life together.”
Mister Smith Entertainment’s David Garrett commented: “The script itself has a unique voice, and the attachment of Susan, Aubrey and Everly to the project will bring magic to an already beautifully honed story, in the hands of the talented Mr. Woods.”
Sarandon is represented by Atlas Artists; Carganilla by Coast to Coast Talent Group and Linden Entertainment; Plaza by CAA, MGMT Entertainment, and Schreck Rose; and Woods by Gersh Agency and Rise Management.
