‘The Life of Chuck’ Sells to Neon After Winning TIFF’s Audience Award (EXCLUSIVE)
“The Life of Chuck” is closing a distribution deal with Neon after winning Toronto Film Festival’s prestigious people’s choice award.
TIFF’s audience prize has historically been a reliable predictors of eventual Oscar success. It’s unclear if that’ll be the case this year, though “The Life of Chuck” has received largely positive reviews. The film will likely be released in the summer of 2025, with an awards push in the fall. Terms of the deal, which has not been finalized, weren’t immediately available. A spokesperson for Neon declined to comment.
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Adapted from Stephen King’s 2020 novella, “The Life of Chuck” stars Tom Hiddleston and is directed by Mike Flanagan. Billed as a “life-affirming” story about an ordinary man named Charles Krantz, the film is split into three distinct chapters that unfurl in reverse chronological order and set against the backdrop of a world that appears to be slowly crumbling. Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, and Jacob Tremblay co-star in “The Life of Chuck,” which has been compared to King adaptations like “Shawshank Redemption” and “Stand By Me” rather than “It” or “Pet Sematary.”
In the film, the titular Chuck has an extended dance sequence. So Hiddleston, who plays the inhibited accountant whose life is shrouded in mystery, endured a six-week crash course to learn everything from jazz, swing, polka, samba and cha-cha to quickstep and moonwalk.
“I had to do all of these technical dances, none of which I have any training in,” Hiddleston told Variety at TIFF. “There are some that came more easily than others. I found I love dancing jazz and swing. Bossa nova is a technical thing that took my hips a minute to get my head around. Polka is like a 100-meter sprint. It feels like a gallop.”
WME Independent repped “The Life of Chuck.”
Elsewhere on the festival circuit, Neon landed rights to Sean Baker’s “Anora,” which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, as well as Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.” The studio’s recent titles include the breakout horror hit “Longlegs,” which has grossed $100 million globally to date; “Cuckoo,” a mysterious thriller starring Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens; and “Immaculate,” a twisted religious tale led by Sydney Sweeney.
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