Warner Bros. Pictures has acquired the worldwide rights to “The Fallout,” a teen drama starring Jenna Ortega that swept the top prizes at the SXSW Film Festival this year.
“The Fallout” is director Megan Park’s debut film and follows a high school girl’s journey after the emotional fallout of a school shooting forever alters her worldview and her relationships with family and friends.
The film will be released exclusively through HBO Max where available globally, and distributed by Warner Bros. internationally. No release date has been set.
Ortega leads a cast that also includes Maddie Ziegler, Niles Fitch, Will Ropp, Lumi Pollack, John Ortiz, Julie Bowen and Shailene Woodley. “The Fallout” won both the Grand Jury Award and the Audience Award for Narrative Feature at SXSW, and Park won the Brightcove Illumination Award honoring a filmmaker on the rise.
“Making ‘The Fallout’ was a journey I never expected to take and one that has changed me forever,” Park said in a statement. “If by seeing this film just one teen feels less alone, less afraid, or somehow understood, that will make the journey worth every step.”
“The Fallout” was produced by Shaun Sanghani of SSS Entertainment and David Brown of Clear Horizon alongside Rebecca Miller, Cara Shine and Todd Lundbohm. Joannie Burstein and Giulia Prenna also produced. The film was financed by SSS Film Capital, Clear Media Finance and 828 Media Capital.
“What Megan Park has created with ‘The Fallout’ is a sensitive and moving story, marking a stunning debut behind the camera, with an exceptional young cast led by a revelatory and powerful performance by Jenna Ortega and an emotionally impactful turn from Maddie Ziegler,” Carolyn Blackwood, chief operating officer of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, said in a statement.
“We shot the film during the height of COVID and despite all the stoppages and setbacks, we knew we had to tell this story now. HBO Max is the perfect home for this film, and we are pleased to be working with the whole team at Warner Bros. to bring the film to audiences around the world,” producers Shaun Sanghani, David Brown, Rebecca Miller and Cara Shine said.
Park’s behind-the-scenes creative team included director of photography Kristen Correll, production designer Justin Dragonas, editor Jennifer Lee, costume designer Tasha Goldthwait and composer Finneas O’Connell.
You can check out a brief teaser trailer for “The Fallout” here that debuted ahead of its premiere at SXSW.
