'Queer'

Source: Yannis Drakoulidis

‘Queer’

In the second high-profile acquisition of a Venice Film Festival world premiere and awards contender within 24 hours, A24 has snapped up US rights from Fremantle to Luca Guadagnino’s Queer starring Daniel Craig.

The company plans a release later this year on the William S. Burroughs adaptation set in 1950s Mexico City, as solitary American expat William Lee becomes infatuated when a younger man arrives on the scene.

The cast includes Drew Starkey, Lesley Manville, Jason Schwartzman, Andra Ursuta, Michael Borremans, and David Lowery. Guadagnino’s Challengers collaborator Justin Kuritzkes adapted the novel.

That film was pulled as last year’s festival opener amid the Hollywood strikes and now the filmmaker prepares to return to the scene of his triumph in 2022, when he won the Silver Bear directing award for Bones And All.

Queer will premiere on September 3, followed by its North American premiere as a Special Presentation at Toronto International Film Festival, and a Spotlight Gala slot at New York Film Festival.

It was produced by Fremantle, Fremantle North America, Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment, and Guadagnino for his Frenesy Film Company, in collaboration with Cinecitta and Frame by Frame. Fremantle Group financed the film.

Craig and Guadagnino said in a statement, “Queer is a labour of love, and we could not be more excited that our film has found a home with a studio as daring, vital, and trail-blazing as A24.”

Andrea Scrosati, Group COO and CEO Continental Europe, Fremantle called the film “a true milestone in filmmaking and storytelling”, adding that A24 was “the perfect partner for Luca Guadagnino’s beautiful and tender film”.

A24 negotiated the deal with CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers.

Earlier on Wednesday Netflix announced it had acquired US rights to Pablo Larraín’s Maria Callas biopic Maria starring Angelina Jolie, which premieres on the Lido on Thursday.

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