“Train Dreams,” a drama starring Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones, has been acquired by Netflix out of Sundance. Our own review called it a “patient, profound and painful experience” and compared it to the work of Terrence Malick.
The movie, about a logger who is working on the railroad, was co-written and directed by Clint Bentley. Greg Kwedar co-wrote the screenplay with Bentley and the two co-wrote the Oscar-nominated “Sing Sing.” Kerry Condon, William H. Macy and Clifton Collins Jr. also star.
Black Bear and Kamala Films produced the film with Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, Will Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer and Michael Heimler. Edgerton and Kwedar are executive producers with Scott Hinckley and John Friedberg.
The “Train Dreams” deal is one of a precious few that have been made at Sundance 2025, continuing a recent trend of distributors holding back on major bidding wars at the Utah festival amid a time of cost-cutting in the film industry. One of the few other major deals so far has been for the Michael Shanks horror movie “Together,” which was picked up by Neon.
Netflix’s deal also comes as the streamer has rolled out its 2025 release slate, which includes fall release dates for Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly” starring George Clooney, and Rian Johnson’s third “Knives Out” film, “Wake Up Dead Man.”
WME Independent negotiated the deal for “Train Dreams.” The film was fully financed by Black Bear.
