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The saga over Maude Apatow’s directorial debut has a happy ending. Her TIFF player “Poetic License” will be released by the venerated Sony Pictures Classics, following a distribution debacle with original buyer Row
K Entertainment.
Variety reported in March that Row K had become inundated with unpaid bills and a creative exodus after less than a year in business. Apatow’s “Poetic License,” starring her mother Leslie Mann and Cooper Hoffman, saw a release date shuffle before the film’s sales reps at WME Independent took the project back out to market. Now, the studio behind “Call Me By Your Name” will roll out the movie in 2027.
The film garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews on its Toronto premiere last September, and SPC took worldwide rights in the negotiation. It follows former therapist and soon-to-be empty nester Liz (Mann), who relocates to a new town for her husband’s job. Her quiet attempt to settle in takes an unexpected turn when she becomes the point of tension between two inseparable best friends and college seniors, Sam (Hoffman) and Ari (Andrew Barth Feldman). As their fierce competition for her attention threatens to upend their lives, Liz is pulled into a tangle of longing, self-discovery, and the intoxicating thrill of being truly seen – forcing her to confront the life she’s built and the one she still craves.
“I grew up watching and loving the films released by Sony Pictures Classics. They shaped my understanding of what movies could be. To now be working alongside Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and the entire team is a dream come true,” Apatow said in a statement.
Leadership at SPC said the film “marks the arrival of an exciting new chapter for filmmaker Maude Apatow, whose distinctive creative vision is evident in every frame. Equal parts funny and heartfelt, the film features career-best performances from Leslie Mann, Cooper Hoffman, and Andrew Barth Feldman, whose undeniable charm and chemistry light up the screen. We are thrilled to bring Maude’s directorial debut to theaters next year and give audiences the opportunity to experience the same magic we felt when we first saw the film.”
Apatow directs from a script by Raffi Donatich. Producers include Judd Apatow, Josh Church, Benjamin Hung, Thalia Daniel, Maude Apatow, Olivia Rosenbloom, and Will Greenfield. Executive producers include Jamal Daniel, Michelle Upton, Renee Witt, Harrison Kreiss and Jay Cassidy.
