Magnolia/Great Point Media
You can’t keep a good Robert Pattinson movie down.
Two months since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, the David and Nathan Zellner’s Western comedy DAMSEL has been slated for release by Magnolia Pictures, which is teaming with Great Point Media on the summer rollout.
Pattinson stars alongside Mia Wasikowska and the Zellners brothers. The Good Time star plays Samuel Alabaster, a wealthy pioneer who sets out across the American frontier with a drunkard and a miniature horse in order to marry the love of his life, Penelope (Wasikowska). That logline hardly does the film justice though, and since the film kind of defies description, just go in expecting a clever deconstruction of traditional gender roles.
The Tracking Board’s Drew McWeeny reviewed Damsel at Sundance, calling it “a wry, charming, smart commentary on gender roles and romantic expectation — a goofball western featuring some terrific star turns from both of the Zellners as well as Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska.”
“We’ve been incredibly fortunate working with Great Point Media in making Damsel and are thrilled to be partnering with Magnolia for the release; their enthusiasm means so much to us,” the Zellners said in a statement. “Robert and Mia are amazing in the film and doing things we’ve not seen them do before. It’s meant to be seen big and loud, and we’re excited that it will have a proper life on the silver screen before being (lovingly) watched on iPhones while multitasking.”
Since debuting at Sundance, Damsel has gone on to screen at Berlin and SXSW in Austin, where the Zellner brothers are from. They produced the film with Chris Ohlson, and left ICM Partners and Great Point Media’s Robert Halmi to negotiate the distribution deal with Magnolia’s Dori Begley and John Van Thaden.
For a look at our Sundance Sales Sheet, click here.
Jeff Sneider | Editor in Chief