VARIETY | by Antonio Ferme February 12, 2021
IFC Films has acquired the North American rights to Gia Coppola’s romantic drama “Mainstream,” which stars Andrew Garfield and Maya Hawke.
The film had its worldwide premiere last year at the Venice Film Festival. It was also selected for the Telluride Film Festival in 2020. It will open May 7 in select theaters and on-demand.
“Mainstream” follows a young woman (Hawke) who starts producing YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger (Garfield) and finds herself rising to Internet stardom. However, the situation quickly turns upside down as the dark side of being a viral celebrity threatens to consume them both.
The film was written and directed by Coppola, the granddaughter of “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” director Francis Ford Coppola. Her breakout hit in 2013, “Palo Alto,” followed a group of teenagers in a wealthy California town that begin to abuse drugs and casual sex.
In addition to Garfield and Hawke, the film also stars Nat Wolff, Johnny Knoxville, Jason Schwartzman and Alexa Demie.
“Mainstream” is produced by Fred Berger of Automatik, Lauren Bratman, Gia Coppola of American Zoetrope, Garfield, Jack Heller and Scott Veltri of Assemble Media, Siena Oberman of Artemis, Francisco Rebelo De Andrade, Enrico Saravia, Alan Terpins of Tugawood, and Zac Weinstein of Dynasty. It was written by Coppola and Tom Stuart.
“Gia Coppola’s ‘Mainstream’ is a bold and innovative film that captures the excitement and discord of the current social media environs with an entertaining wit,” Arianna Bocco, president of IFC Films, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with Gia and her great producing team to bring these viral-worthy performances to theaters and digital this summer.”
“Not only have they worked with filmmakers and projects I deeply admire, but I really love and appreciate their innovative ideas on the film’s release,” Coppola said. “I’m so proud of everyone involved in the making of this movie, and I especially can’t wait for people to see Andrew’s radical performance!”
The deal for the film was negotiated by Bocco with CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers. International sales will be handled by Wild Bunch.