Tribeca-Bound Western ‘Little Woods’, Starring Tessa Thompson & Lily James, Scores International Sales Deal
EXCLUSIVE: Tribeca-bound ‘modern Western’ Little Woods, starring Tessa Thompson and Lily James, has been picked up for international sales by UK outfit Independent. In the debut from writer-director Nia DaCosta, Thor: Ragnarok and Creed star Thompson and Cinderella and Baby Driver star James play two estranged sisters who are driven to work outside the law to better their lives in a fracking boomtown in North Dakota.
The film will debut in Tribeca’s US Narrative Competition later this month and Independent will look to begin sales on the movie during Cannes in early May with CAA repping U.S. Producers are Rachael Fung (The Get Down), Gabrielle Nadig (King Jack), and Tim Headington (Hugo). James Badge Dale (Only The Brave), Luke Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel) and Lance Reddick (John Wick) round out the cast.
Independent’s Head of Sales Sarah Lebutsch told us, “We couldn’t be more thrilled to represent Nia’s debut feature. She is a hugely talented director who establishes an obvious immediate rapport to the actors she works with. We look forward to introducing Little Woods to buyers in Cannes.”
Emerging director DaCosta has previously been supported by the Sundance Institute, the New York Film Festival, The Time Warner Foundation and San Francisco Film. She is currently developing sci-fi thriller entitled Canary with Headington’s Tango Entertainment and a retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion set in the underground jazz clubs of 1920s Soho, London with BBC Films.
Here’s Little Woods‘ full synopsis, “For years, Ollie has helped the struggling residents of Little Woods, North Dakota, gain access to Canadian healthcare: smuggling in their medications, sneaking people across the border for procedures and profiting from drug trafficking on the side. After she’s caught and put on probation, she plans to go legitimate but is driven back into the underbelly of their oil boomtown by her sister, Deb.”
DaCosta is with Management 360, CAA, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates and Del Shaw Moonves. Thompson is repped by Greene & Associates Talent Agency, Mosaic and Jackoway Tyerman. James is repped by UTA in the U.S. and Tavistock Wood in the UK. Dale is repped by CAA and MJ Management. Kirby is repped by Gersh. Reddick is repped by Paradigm and Grandview.
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