'Hot Curlers' Casts June Squibb, Linda Hamilton — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Hot Curlers, directed and co-written by David White with Anna Taylor, has cast Oscar nominee June Squibb, Linda Hamilton, Jayne Eastwood, and Caroline Aaron in a New Zealand sports comedy inspired by a true story.
- The plot follows four young curlers from tiny Naseby, New Zealand, who travel to Calgary to train for the Winter Olympics but, on a limited budget, end up moving into a retirement home where the elderly residents become their coaches and found family.
- Cornerstone Pictures has boarded the project to handle worldwide sales, with the film launching at the Toronto International Film Festival ahead of production in New Zealand and Calgary set for early 2027.
- George Ferrier ("Juniper," "The Hunting Wives") also stars, with Kelly Martin producing for South Pacific Pictures alongside White, and Calgary-based SEVEN24 Films (whose credits include "Brokeback Mountain") participating.
- Madman Entertainment has secured Australian and New Zealand distribution while Mongrel Media acquired the film for Canada, signaling early international pre-sales ahead of the TIFF sales launch.
Why it matters: The film has already locked distribution in three English-speaking territories (Australia/NZ and Canada) ahead of its TIFF sales launch, a strong early signal for a debut-feature-style project that hasn't yet started production. Cornerstone's involvement—with the same company handling Mike Leigh's "Tender Loving Care" at TIFF—gives "Hot Curlers" a credible international sales platform.
Ask SkimNews
