The Peanut Butter Falconwas one of the very best films I saw in 2019, and now its directorsTyler NilsonandMichael Schwartzare teaming up with producersPhil LordandChris Millerfor their next movie, Collider has exclusively learned.
Nilson and Schwartz are in talks to write, direct and produce the untitled film, which sources describe as a Cuban story that will be shot largely in Spanish with a very naturalistic vibe in the vein ofAmerican Honey. Set amid the heightening AIDS epidemic of the early ’90s, the story is said to follow two brothers in the Cuban punk movement who enter a sanatorium to escape poverty.
Lord and Miller will produce under their aptly-named Lord Miller banner alongsideAditya Sood, while Nilson and Schwartz will produce via their company Lucky Treehouse.Rebecca Karch Tomlinsonwill serve as an executive producer for Lord Miller.
The Peanut Butter Falconwas a big-hearted indie crowdpleaser starringZack Gottsagenas a young man with Down syndrome who dreams of becoming a wrestler. The film won an audience award at SXSW before earning its directors a DGA Award nomination for best first-time feature film. It was also the highest-grossing platform release of 2019.
Nilson and Schwartz are currently developing a limited series for Apple withMargot Robbie’s company LuckyChap and Warner Bros. Television, as well as an episodic drama withDavid Duchovnyfor Showtime. They’re represented by WME and Management 360, while UTA reps Lord and Miller.
Though Lord Miller is best known for producing high-profile animated fare such asSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verseand all theLEGOmovies, it has swam in these low-budget indie waters once before, having producedBrigsby BearstarringSNL’sKyle MooneyandMark Hamill. Up next for the shingle is the animated family comedyThe Mitchells vs. the Machines,which Netflix just boughtas it tries to further establish itself in the animated space, though I’m also looking forward toApple’s comedic mystery seriesThe Afterparty.
