Neon, the studio behind “Anora” and “Parasite,” and Waypoint Entertainment, the production and financing company behind “The Favorite” and “Hostils,” have expanded their partnership with a multi-film financing deal. In addition to the romantic comedy “Splitsville,” which was released on September 5, the films include “Arco,” “No Other Choice,” “Sentimental Value,” “Sirât” and “The Secret Agent,” while “Keeper” and “Shelby Oaks” come from Waypoint Entertainment’s genre label Cweature features.
Neon and Waypoint’s existing co-financing partnership comes after their successful collaboration on Tillman Singer’s “Cuckoo,” starring Hunter Schaefer and Dan Stevens. The two companies have since collaborated on a number of films, including Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs. The upcoming Boots Riley feature “I Love Boosters” will star Keiki Palmer, Naomi Ackie, LaKeith Stanfield, Demi Moore and Eiza Gonzalez. And Damian McCarthy’s Hokum, starring Adam Scott, was recently co-produced by Cweature Features.
The deal was negotiated by Neon founder Tom Quinn and chief financial officer Ryan Friscia, as well as Waypoint co-founder Ken Kao and partner Josh Rosenbaum.
This awards season, five neon films from each country were selected as the official selection for the Academy Awards’ International Feature Film category. Four of these titles are “The Secret Agent” for Brazil, which will be released on November 26th; “Sirât” represents Spain. “Sentimental Value” is released for Norway on November 7th. Released on December 25th for South Korea, “No Other Choice” is part of a newly expanded Waypoint partnership. They are participating in “It Was Just An Accident” (France), which was released on October 15th and won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes. Neon’s recent releases include “Together,” starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco, and “Orwell: 2+2=5,” directed by Raoul Peck.
For more than a decade, Waypoint has worked with top filmmakers including Yorgos Lanthimos, Scott Cooper, Terrence Malick, and Martin Scorsese. Last year, the company released its Cweature feature. Waypoint recently backed She Rides Shotgun and is working on Project Hail Mary, an adventure film directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller starring Ryan Gosling.
(Photo: Ryan Friscia, Tom Quinn, Ken Kao, and Josh Rosenbaum at the premiere of Cuckoo as part of SXSW 2024.)
