Utopia and Showtime have partnered to acquire “Meet Me in the Bathroom,” the documentary film about the early 2000s New York City rock and roll scene that made its premiere at this year’s Sundance.
Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern directed the film that’s based on the 2017 book by Lizzy Goodman. Goodman’s book is a comprehensive oral history of the bands that redefined the rock scene in the early 2000s and late ’90s, including The Strokes, Interpol, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem and more. The film specifically is an assemble of archival footage from that era and forgoes talking head interviews, instead featuring rare early performances and behind the scenes looks at NYC’s top bands.
Utopia will release the film theatrically in theaters later this year, and Showtime will air “Meet Me in the Bathroom” by the end of 2022.
“Meet Me in the Bathroom” is an XTR and Vice Studios presentation of a Pulse Films production and produced by Vivienne Perry, Pulse Films’ Sam Bridger, Marisa Clifford, and Thomas Benski, Vice Studios’ Danny Gabai, Suroosh Alvi and Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace. Executive producers include Hayley Pappas, Matt Ippolito, Vice Studios’ Andrew Freston and Natalie Farrey, XTR’s Bryn Mooser, Pulse Films’ Tim O’Shea, Isabel Davis, Brian Levy, Jaime Neely, and Lizzy Goodman.
“Lizzy’s book told the story of a time and a place that was incredibly resonant for us personally, so the prospect of adapting it for the screen was one that we jumped at,” Lovelace and Southern said. “Our hope was to make a film that acts as a time capsule. We weren’t looking to tell the complete history of each band, as the world has changed so much since the years covered by the documentary. We wanted to create a vivid distillation of a music scene, a time and a place, and in doing so explore something universal about youth and creativity.”
“The bands in ‘Meet Me in the Bathroom’ brought back an edge and personality to alt rock music and crossed into the global mainstream in the early 2000s, when everything in music seemed repetitive and fabricated,” Utopia’s co-founder Robert Schwartzman said. “Utopia’s team has a personal and emotional connection to this era of New York culture and the many artists who helped shape this time and place. We are so truly honored to be a part of this film’s journey and cannot wait to celebrate the filmmakers long awaited documentary after its well-received Sundance debut.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Utopia on ‘Meet Me in the Bathroom,’ a rousing look at a seminal moment in both the history of rock music and the city of New York,” said Kent Sevener, EVP, Content Acquisition, Showtime Networks Inc. “With its dynamic archival footage and electrifying soundtrack, ‘Meet Me in the Bathroom’ will be a unique addition to the Showtime documentary slate.”
This deal was negotiated by Danielle DiGiacomo for Utopia with UTA Independent Film Group on behalf of the filmmakers. Goodman is represented by UTA and 3 Arts Management.
Variety first reported the news.
