A24 has wrapped production on Death of a Unicorne, its new film starring Paul Rudd (Ant-Man franchise) and Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) that has been at the center of the online rumor mill for months. Others officially set to join the duo as part of the ensemble include Richard E. Grant (Saltburn) Téa Leoni (Flirting with Disaster), Will Poulter (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), Anthony Carrigan (Barry), Sunita Mani (GLOW), Jessica Hynes (Shaun of the Dead), and Stephen Park (Asteroid City).
Shot over the summer under a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement, Death of a Unicorne marKs the directorial debut of Alex Scharfman, who also penned the script. The film follows a father (Rudd) and daughter (Ortega) who accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where the former’s billionaire boss (Grant) seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties.
A24 will globally distribute the pic after co-financing alongside Ley Line Entertainment. Producers on the project include Scharfman, Drew Houpt and Lucas Joaquin of Secret Engine, Tyler Campellone and Lars Knudsen of Square Peg, and Tim Headington and Theresa Steele Page of Ley Line Entertainment. Exec producers are Ari Aster, Michael Williams, Jacob Epstein, David Darby, Nate Kamiya, Rudd and Ortega.
Halloween‘s John Carpenter is composing music for the pic alongside son Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies. Larry Fong (Kong: Skull Island) is on board as Director of Photography, with Amy Williams (Master of None) as Production Designer, Avy Kaufman (Tár) as Casting Director and Andrea Flesch (Midsommar) as Costume Designer.
A writer, director, producer who co-founded the aforementioned Secret Engine, Scharfman also currently has film and television projects in development with Point Grey, Sugar23, Blumhouse, Lord Miller, Amblin, Amazon and Sony TV. Prior to Death of a Unicorne, he’s produced such notable indies as Blow the Man Down and Resurrection, among other titles.
Rudd is repped by UTA, Lighthouse Management & Media, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Ortega by CAA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Grant by Curtis Brown Group in the UK and WME; Leoni by Gersh and Nelson Davis; Poulter by WME, Hamilton Hodell in the UK, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Carrigan by CAA, United Agents in the UK, Schlegel Entertainment, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Mani by UTA, Mosaic, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Hynes by Independent Talent Group in the UK and Seven Summits Pictures & Management; Park by BRS/Gage; and Scharfman by Lighthouse Management & Media and Granderson Des Rochers.