A24 Loves the Robert Pattinson Business, and Business Is Booming as ‘High Life’ Gets Picked Up
Zack Sharf
A24 is back in the Robert Pattinson business. The company that released “The Rover” and “Good Time” has picked up Claire Denis’ science-fiction movie “High Life.” The indie studio has purchased North American distribution rights to the filmmaker’s English-language debut at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“High Life” centers around a group of criminals aboard a spaceship. The convicts have been tricked into thinking they are on a mission towards a black hole to find alternate energy sources when in reality they are being used by the spaceship’s lead scientist (Juliette Binoche) for sexual experiments. Pattinson is joined by Mia Goth and Juliette Binoche in the film.
Following its premiere at TIFF, “High Life” was met with extreme reactions from film critics for its grotesque and unexpected storyline. IndieWire’s own David Ehrlich adored Denis’ vision, hailing the movie as a “horrifying and ambiguous a space odyssey” in his A- review.
“High Life” marks the fourth collaboration between Pattinson and A24, something the distributor humorously boasted about in a tweet following its acquisition of the Denis film. Pattinson’s first A24 release was David Michôd’s “The Rover,” but the duo really popped with last summer’s release of “Good Time.” The Safdie brothers’ crime drama was one of the best reviewed entries at Cannes in 2017 and went on to earn Pattinson career-best reviews. “High Life” joins “The Lighthouse,” the black-and-white horror film from “The Witch” director Robert Eggers, as the two Pattinson vehicles A24 has ready to launch in the future.
A24 has not set a release date for “High Life,” though it’s likely the distributor holds off until 2019 for a theatrical release. The studio has Jonah Hill’s directorial debut “Mid90s” set for release October 19, followed by David Robert Mitchell’s “Under the Silver Lake” on December 7. A24 is also expected to debut Gaspar Noe’s “Climax” sometime in 2018.
The Robert Pattinson-A24 Quartet is nearly complete.
— A24 (@A24) September 13, 2018
