Roadside, Vertical Nab 'The Gallerist' Starring Portman
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- Roadside Attractions and Vertical acquired U.S. distribution rights to "The Gallerist," a Miami-set satire of the art world, more than 10 months after its Sundance Film Festival premiere.
- Cathy Yan directed the film, which features Sterling K. Brown, Zach Galifianakis, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Catherine Zeta-Jones alongside Portman and Ortega.
- Portman portrays an artist trying to establish herself at Art Basel Miami who covers up a fatal accident by selling the dead body as a work of art; Roadside/Vertical called it "wildly original" and "as fun as it is terrifying."
- James Pedersen wrote the screenplay; producers include Ash Sarohia, Sophie Mas, Portman, Jonathan King, Tom McCarthy, Rae Baron, and Zola Elgart Glassman.
- Peter Debruge, Variety's chief film critic, reviewed "The Gallerist" as "facile but fun," writing that the "intermittently clever movie is full of art-world in-jokes, but seems oblivious to its many plot holes."
- Roadside and Vertical execs Howard Cohen, Eric d'Arbeloff, and Peter Jarowey said Yan's film was "a winner for us at Sundance," with Portman showing a "dazzling comic edge."
Why it matters: The Dec. 4 theatrical release gives Yan — coming off "Birds of Prey" — a star-driven indie nearly a year after Sundance, while the Roadside/Vertical pipeline gets a Portman/Ortega vehicle to slot alongside upcoming releases including "The Weight" with Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe and "The Magic Faraway Tree" with Andrew Garfield.
