Nathan Zellner: Last News

After a live performance of the song “The Creatures of Nature” from Sasquatch Sunset at Deadline’s Sound & Screen event, the film’s composers, risk-taking band The Octopus Project, revealed that they also recorded a version relayed entirely in bigfoot grunts recorded by the film’s leading lady, actress Riley Keough, who sang English language lyrics for the song.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Dave Bautista (“The Last Showgirl”), Steven Yeun (“Mickey 17”), Zoë Kravitz (“The Batman”), Léa Seydoux (“Dune 2”), Riley Keough (“Daisy Jones & the Six”) and Channing Tatum (“Deadpool & Wolverine”) have joined the cast of “Alpha Gang,” an alien invasion comedy by “Sasquatch Sunset” filmmakers David and Nathan Zellner. “Alpha Gang,” which also stars Cate Blanchett, centers on a group of alien invaders sent to conquer Earth. “Disguised in human form as an armed and dangerous 1950’s leather-clad biker gang, they show no mercy… until they catch the most toxic, contagious human disease of all: emotion,” reads the synopsis.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett is set to star as the leader of the “Alpha Gang,” an alien invasion comedy by “Sasquatch Sunset” filmmakers David and Nathan Zellner. The hot package will be launched at Cannes by MK2 Films (“Anatomy of a Fall”) handling international sales and CAA Media Finance handling North American distribution rights. “Alpha Gang” is set to start filming in the Fall.

Nathan Zellner and David Zellner’s Sasquatch Sunset is stomping into circa 850 theaters this weekend after debuting in 9 with a solid opening for a film many could find weird. A tribe of Sasquatch, possibly the last of their kind, live and love in the woods of northern California, where it was shot.

Sasquatch Sunset directors Nathan and David Zellner (Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter) always wondered what these hairy giants do when they’re not walking – the only Bigfoot footage available has been a minute of a supposed Sasquatch wandering in the northern California woods. They decided to flesh that out in unique dialogue-free comedic imagining of the creatures’ daily life – eating, fighting, etc. Stars Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, Christophe Zajac-Denek and Nathan Zellner are unrecognizable as the hairy tribe of four that entranced Sundance (see Deadline review). Bleecker Street is opening the film, written by David Zellner, executive produced by Ari Aster, in 9 theaters in New York, LA, San Francisco and Austin, ahead of a big jump to about 800 screens next week.

EXCLUSIVE: In celebration of its 10th anniversary, Bleecker Street has unveiled a reel showcasing both where the company has been and where it’s headed, unveiling never-before-seen footage from numerous upcoming titles.

Ellise Shafer “Sasquatch Sunset,” the Sundance-premiering film in which Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg star as Bigfoot-like creatures, is getting a U.K. and Ireland release from Icon Film Distribution. The long-standing distributor, which is known for releasing iconic films like “Drive” and “Malcolm X,” is setting a release date for next quarter following the movie’s premiere at a major U.K.

Bleecker Street has picked up U.S. rights to Mikael Håfström’s sci-fi thriller Slingshot, starring Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne and Emily Beecham. Additional cast includes Fauda star Tomer Capone and The Walking Dead’s David Morrissey. 

Jaden Thompson Prepare for “the greatest Bigfoot story ever told.” Bleecker Street has released the trailer for the upcoming absurdist comedy “Sasquatch Sunset,” starring Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg as hairy (and horny) mythical creatures. It is set for theatrical release on April 12.

EXCLUSIVE: FilmNation Entertainment and Bleecker Street have set a June 14 U.S. theatrical release date for Julia von Heinz’s drama Treasure, which will world premiere as Special Gala presentation at the Berlin Film Festival on February 17.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Chime,” a mid-length movie by leading Japanese director Kurosawa Kiyoshi, is among three late additions to the Berlin Film Festival’s Berlinale Special section. The two others are “August My Heaven,” another mid-length picture form Japan, directed by Kudo Riho, and “The Strangers’ Case,” a full-length feature directed by Brandt Andersen which will play as a Berlinale Special Gala presentation. In “Chime” Tashiro, a student at a culinary school, hears voices in his head.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Austin-based indie directors David and Nathan Zellner have spent more time thinking about Sasquatch than most filmmakers do musing about human beings. In 2011, they brought “Sasquatch Birth Journal 2” to the Sundance Film Festival, a four-minute faux nature documentary in which a hirsute creature can be seen giving birth to an equally furry infant.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Sasquatch Sunset” is the kind of movie you need to see to believe. Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough star in the absurdist comedy, which premiered on Friday at the Sundance Film Festival and follows a family of Yetis over the course of a year. The film, with zero dialogue or narration but plenty of grunts, captures an immersive, “true” depiction of the daily life of the Sasquatch.

Anyone with more than a passing interest in the weird and wonderful will have seen, if not heard of, the Patterson-Gimlin footage, the cryptoozological equivalent of the Zapruder film. Shot in 1967 in the forests of Northern Carolina, it purports to show a large, ape-like creature with an elongated forehead striding purposefully into the trees. Unlike an ape, the creature walks upright, and, unlike the furtive behavior of any other forest creature, it has the casual air of the average human being popping over to the 7-11 to pick up a gallon of milk. Most people who see the footage wonder what the hell this damn thing is, but the sibling directors of Sasquatch Sunset have a couple more questions that they’d like answered. Like, where is it going? And what does it do all day?

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter It took a lot of time — and hair — to transform Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough into Bigfoot. They spent several hours in the makeup chair to don the elaborate prosthetics needed to play two of the eponymous creatures in “Sasquatch Sunset,” a surreal comedic drama that premieres on Friday at the Sundance Film Festival.

EXCLUSIVE. When the alternative book of film trivia is written, a page will be dedicated to the influence of Leonard Nimoy’s paranormal-themed late-’70s TV show In Search of… on director siblings. It was here that Albert and Allen Hughes first heard about Britain’s most notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper, beginning an obsession with Victorian London that resulted in their 2001 horror-drama From Hell. And for David and Nathan Zellner, the cultural impact was very similar. “We loved that show,” recalls David. “As kids, there wasn’t much out there, that we were exposed to, that covered those sorts of things. They’d cover the Loch Ness monster, everything. I remember one about plants, wondering if they were able to think and what kind of music they’d like to listen to. They got really obscure with some of the subjects, but we loved that show. We loved the vibe of it. And that’s where we first learned about Bigfoot…”

Cuckoo (above) from filmmaker Tilman Singer and Johan Renck’s Spaceman with Adam Sandler, a Netflix film for which a trailer just dropped.The seven films are as follows.Cuckooby Tilman Singer | with Hunter Schafer, Dan Stevens, Jessica Henwick, Marton Csókás, Jan Bluthardt Germany 2024Berlinale Special Gala | World premiereDostoevskij (Dostoevsky)by Damiano & Fabio D’Innocenzo | with Filippo Timi, Gabriel Montesi, Carlotta Gamba, Federico Vanni Italy 2024Berlinale Special | World premiere | SeriesSasquatch Sunsetby David & Nathan Zellner | with Riley Keough, Jesse Eisenberg, Nathan Zellner, Christophe Zajac-Denek USA 2024Berlinale Special | International premiereSeven Veilsby Atom Egoyan | with Amanda Seyfried, Rebecca Liddiard, Douglas Smith, Ambur Braid, Michael Kupfer-Radecky Canada 2023Berlinale Special Gala | International premiereSpacemanby Johan Renck | with Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, Kunal Nayyar, Isabella Rossellini, Paul Dano USA 2024Berlinale Special Gala | World premiereTreasureby Julia von Heinz | with Lena Dunham, Stephen Fry, Zbigniew Zamachowski Germany / France 2024Berlinale Special Gala | World premiereWu Suo Zhu (Abiding Nowhere)by Tsai Ming-liangTaiwan / USA 2024Berlinale Special | World premiere | Documentary FormArtistic Director Carlo Chatrian announced seven films in all for next year’s festival with the remaining line-up due in mid-January.“It is with special pleasure and pride that we welcome back directors who have presented their work at the festival in the past. Berlinale Special will be home for new films by Julia von Heinz (Treasure) and Tilman Singer (Cuckoo), both with projects involving American stars, for the irreverent comedy by the Zellner brothers (Sasquatch Sunset) and the dark

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Johan Renck’s Netflix sci-fi drama “Spaceman,” starring Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano, and German filmmaker Julia von Heinz’s “Treasure” – formerly titled “Iron Box” – with Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry, are among high-profile titles set to launch from the upcoming Berlin Film Festival. The 74th Berlinale – which will unveil its competition lineup on Jan.

The Berlinale has announced the first seven productions, including one series, to be invited to the Berlinale Specials strand of its 74th edition running February 15 to 25, 2024.

Valerie Wu Intern Directing duo David and Nathan Zellner’s latest film “Sasquatch Sunset,” starring Riley Keough (“Daisy Jones and the Six”) and Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network”), is slated for a theatrical release by film distribution company Bleecker Street in 2024. No plot details have yet been announced. The film depicts “a year in the life of a singular family,” according to its description, and Eisenberg will be playing a hairy, big-footed Sasquatch, which he previously relayed to Variety.

Bleecker Street has quietly snapped up U.S. rights to Sasquatch Sunset, the newest feature from renowned brother filmmakers David and Nathan Zellner (Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter), for release in theaters in 2024.