Searchlight Pictures Buys Alexander Payne’s Next Film ‘Somewhere Out There’ for Worldwide Rights (EXCLUSIVE)

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Searchlight Pictures has acquired the global distribution rights for director Alexander Payne’s upcoming film titled “Somewhere Out There.” The movie will feature Renate Reinsve, the award-winning Norwegian actor recognized at Cannes for her role in Joachim Trier’s “The Unworthy Person.

A film in the Danish language, set to be Payne’s debut European production, is being created by Birgitte Skov at Scanbox Production, an affiliate of Vuelta Group. The filming for this project is scheduled for 2026 in Denmark.

20 years after their previous collaboration on “Sideways,” a movie that earned an Oscar for best adapted screenplay and gained cult status, Alexander Payne is rejoining with Studio Searchlight Pictures. Notably, Searchlight Pictures was also the studio behind “The Descendants,” a film for which Payne won the award for best director in 2012.

Alexander Payne, who won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay for “Sideways” and was awarded best director for “The Descendants,” is returning to work with Studio Searchlight Pictures, which he previously partnered with 20 years ago on “Sideways.”

Payne mentioned that some of his best cinematic adventures have been with Searchlight Pictures. It was only a matter of time before we collaborated again, and he’s thrilled about it.

Matthew Greenfield, President of Searchlight Pictures, expressed delight by saying, “Working with Alexander Payne again is an absolute pleasure, as he’s simply a brilliant storyteller.

Greenfield went on to say that ‘Somewhere Out There’ signifies a thrilling new phase, as Alexander crafts another stunningly authentic, humorous, and heartfelt film. Furthermore, he applauded the exceptional group of individuals responsible for this venture, such as Thor Sigurjonsson and our newly formed allies at Scanbox.

The global agreement with Searchlight does not encompass the Nordic region, instead it will be managed by Scanbox. Thor Sigurjonsson, head of Scanbox Entertainment, stated that this deal with Searchlight “illustrates how we at Scanbox Entertainment and Vuelta approach local productions.

With Searchlight joining our team, this Danish movie has the potential to reach its largest audience yet,” Sigurjonsson stated. “Matthew and Chan Phung are incredibly enthusiastic about this project, and we feel that we’ve found a fantastic collaborator in Searchlight for our film.

Somewhere Out There” is a joint production by Hummel Film from Norway, Nordic Drama Queens from Sweden, and Maneki Films from France.

The screenplay for the movie “Somewhere Out There” was written by Erlend Loe, drawing inspiration from Åke Sandgren’s initial concept. Meanwhile, Reinsve, who will be a secondary character in our film, is attending Cannes this year with Trier’s production titled “Sentimental Value.

The storyline continues to be kept secret. With “Somewhere Out There”, Payne will release his next project following “The Holdovers”, which garnered five Oscar nominations in 2024, including the best picture category, and won Da’Vine Joy Randolph the award for best supporting actress.

Scanbox Entertainment, a division of Vuelta Group, is providing financial support for this project. The movie’s production has also been supported by several institutions such as the Danish Film Institute and Regional Fund Vestdanske Filmpulje (DVF), the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI), and the Danish Broadcasting Corp (DR).

Matt Donnelly contributed to this report.

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2025-05-17 18:46