DANIEL ISN'T REAL: Samuel Goldwyn Films And Shudder Acquire North American Rights

Without giving too much away, this film is not what you think it is, and with every new twist, the audience is knocked on its ass anew, making Daniel Isn't Real an exciting discovery and a genuinely original vision... Mortimer has managed take a story that the audience thinks they already know, and send it off into the darkest corners of the genre universe while still managing to keep the action and emotional center of the story cleverly contained. It's a small story, about a boy and his imaginary friend, but it has potentially cosmic implications if things go sideways.

Samuel Goldwyn Films and Shudder announced today that the companies have co-acquired North American rights to Adam Egypt Mortimer’s dark thriller DANIEL ISN’T REAL. Patrick Schwarzenegger("The Long Road Home", “Midnight Sun”) and Miles Robbins (“Blockers,” David Gordon Green's “Halloween”) star alongside Sasha Lane (“American Honey,” “Hearts Beat Loud”), Hannah Marks ("Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency") and Mary Stuart Masterson (“Blindspot”). The film will come to theaters and VOD late 2019.

 

Troubled college freshman Luke (Robbins) suffers a violent family trauma and resurrects his childhood imaginary friend Daniel (Schwarzenegger) to help him cope. Charismatic and full of manic energy, Daniel helps Luke to achieve his dreams, before pushing him to the very edge of sanity and into a desperate struggle for control of his mind -- and his soul.

 

DANIEL ISN’T REAL was directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer (Some Kind of Hate) and co-written with Brian DeLeeuw, based on DeLeeuw’s acclaimed book “In This Way I Was Saved”. The film was produced by SpectreVision's Daniel Noah, Josh C. Waller, Lisa Whalen, and Elijah Wood. Johnny Chang, Peter Wong, Emma Lee and Timur Bekbosunov executive produced for ACE Pictures. Stacy Jorgensen, Elisa Lleras, and Michael McGuire executive produced for SpectreVision.

 

“The film is striking in so many ways from visuals and performances to the incredible execution of psychological horror. We immediately recognized that Adam had crafted something special here and are excited to partner with Shudder and bring it to audiences everywhere,” says Miles Fineburg of Samuel Goldwyn Films.

 

“In Goldwyn and Shudder we've found two ideal partners who perfectly represent the unique hybrid of qualities that our movie has to offer: at once a provocative identity thriller drama for a discerning arthouse audience and gonzo face-melter for devotees of extreme cinemas,” says director Adam Egypt Mortimer.

 

The deal was negotiated by Miles Fineburg on behalf of Samuel Goldwyn Films, Emily Gotto on behalf of Shudder, and ICM Partners and Stacy Jorgensen of SpectreVision on behalf of the filmmakers.