EXCLUSIVE: Magnolia Pictures has taken U.S. rights to the Cannes Midnight animated comedy Jim Queen from filmmakers Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané and featuring a voice cast led by Club Kid‘s star and director Jordan Firstman. A summer theatrical release for the English-language version is planned.
Also starring are Matteo Lane (Chicago on Broadway), Nicole Byer (Nailed It!), John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Bob the Drag Queen (RuPaul’s Drag Race), and Wendie Malick (Shrinking). Moby executive produced the pic.
Jim Queen follows gay influencer Jim (Firstman) whose life is turned upside down when Heterosis, a mysterious virus that starts turning gay men straight, sweeps through the gay scene. Jim, the six-packed sovereign of the Gym Queens, soon goes from Pride royalty to social outcast. With only Lucien (Lane), a freshly out twink with more heart than abs, still by his side, Jim must race to find a cure before the disease erases the community that once worshipped him.
“The perfection of this cast is matched only by the outrageousnessof this story,” said Magnolia Co-CEOs Eamonn Bowles and Dori Begley. “We can’t wait for audiences to experience it this summer.”
The English-language version of Jim Queen is co-directed by Wolfie Trausch, produced by Bobbypills and Timeless Studios. Co-written by Nguyen and Athané with Simon Balteaux and Brice Chevillard, the film is produced by French adult animation studio Bobbypills founder David Alric, and Arthur Delabays. Bobbypills is also behind HBO Max’s DC Studios animated series Creature Commandos. The studio’s credits also include Netflix’s Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, produced with Ubisoft Film & Television, as well as Crisis Jung and Vermin.
Jim Queen is co-produced by Umedia (The Count of Monte Cristo, Night of the Zoopocalypse), with the support of Eurimages (Council of Europe), Avance sur recettes (CNC), la Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, le Département de la Charente and la Région Réunion. It is executive produced by Moby and Lindsay Hicks for Little Walnut in the U.S., and Katarzyna Janiak and Jacek Świgost for Timeless Studios, Arthur Cohen for Momentum Entertainment, and Fabien Westerhoff for Global Constellation.
The deal was negotiated by Magnolia Pictures SVP of Acquisitions John Von Thaden, with Global Constellation, a Vuelta company, Managing Director Film Fabien Westerhoff, handling international sales and negotiating the U.S. distribution deal on behalf of the filmmakers.
Firstman’s Club Kid opened to a strong first weekend theater average of $67,2K at six NYC and LA theaters this past weekend. The A24 release is up for Best Feature and Breakthrough Director at the Gotham Awards.
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