Topic Studios' Ryan Heller Returns to Cannes with Open Marriage Comedy ‘Splitsville' starring Dakota Johnson
It's not the first time Topic Studios' EVP of film & documentary Ryan Heller has taken a film he produced to Cannes. In fact, it's not even his first time with a film directed by Michael Covino: their previous collaboration, 'The Climb,' won the Heart Prize in Un Certain Regard at the fest in 2019.
But when Topic debuts its new film – the open marriage comedy 'Splitsville,' starring Dakota Johnson, Adria Arjona, Nicholas Braun, Covino and the film's co-writer Kyle Marvin – in Cannes' Premiere section on May 19, it will mark yet another high point in what has been a remarkable year for Heller, who began his showbiz career as a guitarist with the indie rock band Aberdeen City.
More from Variety
Nicole Kidman Pushes Back on Industry Ageism at Kering Women in Motion Gala in Cannes: 'Invest in Us and Believe in Us Because Our Voices Are So Important'
Marie Kreutzer's 'Gentle Monster' Wins ArteKino Prize at Cannes Investors Circle
Director of Julian Assange Film 'The Six Billion Dollar Man' Wins Golden Globe Prize for Documentary
In January, two documentaries Heller produced ('It's Never Over: Jeff Buckley' and 'Folktales') received rapturous receptions when they premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and, two months later, Kieran Culkin won a support actor Oscar for a film Heller executive produced, writer/director/star Jesse Eisenberg's 'A Real Pain.'
While Heller is having a good year, he's not immune to the uncertainty wracking the industry, which has been exacerbated by President Trump, who on the eve of Heller's conversation with Variety announced that he was going to put a 100% tariff on all foreign-made films.
It's really impossible to generalize. The cost of making movies is high, and I think everybody is looking all over the world for all sorts of opportunities to get money up on screen. We're shooting Jesse Eisenberg's new [untitled musical comedy] movie in New Jersey. We made 'Theater Camp' and 'Shortcomings' in New York. So we certainly don't actively try to [shoot outside the U.S.]. But the independent film business is quite a complex web of international relationships and incentives, and shooting locations are a small part of that.
Coming out of the pandemic, the independent films sector was a little slower to come back than others and certainly slower than we all would have liked. Casual moviegoing shifted. It was clear that audiences would still come out for something that was special or felt like an event to them or it really needed to be seen in a communal way. It's probably just sharpened our focus on how we're looking at our own movies and making sure we can really stand by those as communal experiences or sort of mini events.
We had a first-look deal with Mike and Kyle and their company, Watch This Ready. We developed a handful of scripts together, including 'Splitsville,' and that script just came together in a moment where we felt like we had an opportunity to get the movie made before the end of 2024. It will be released less than a year from when we started shooting it last September, which is quite exciting.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Best of Variety
'Blue Velvet,' 'Chinatown' and 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' Arrive on 4K in June
All the Godzilla Movies Ranked
'House of the Dragon': Every Character and What You Need to Know About the 'Game of Thrones' Prequel
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Forbes
‘The Phoenician Scheme' Reviews: Do Critics Buy Into Wes Anderson's Comedy?
Michael Cera, Benicio Del Toro and Mia Threapleton in "The Phoenician Scheme." Director Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme — starring Benicio Del Toro, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson and Bryan Cranston — is now in theaters. How are critics receiving the film? Rated PG-13, The Phoenician Scheme opened in limited release on May 31 before expanding to a wide release on Friday. Also starring Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend and Hope Davis, The Phoenician Scheme held its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in May. The logline for The Phoenician Scheme reads, "The story of a family and a family business." Featuring a screenplay by Anderson and Roman Coppola, the offbeat comedy follows the story of European businessman Zsa-zsa Korda (Del Toro) and his only daughter and sole heir, a nun named Sister Liesel (Threapleton), who are each being targeted by assassins and schemers. As of Friday, Rotten Tomatoes critics have collectively given The Phoenician Scheme a 78% 'fresh' rating based on 185 reviews. The RT Critics Consensus for the film reads, 'A caper made with all the intricacy of a Rube Goldberg machine, The Phoenician Scheme doesn't deviate from Wes Anderson's increasingly ornate style but delivers the formula with mannered delicacy.' Audiences on RT gave the film a 73% 'fresh' score on the critic aggregation site's Popcornmeter based on 100-plus verified user ratings. Kyle Smith of The Wall Street Journal is among the top critics on RT who gives The Phoenician Scheme a 'fresh' rating on RT, writing, 'Given that The Phoenician Scheme essentially concludes by saying, as some of the director's other movies did, 'Forgive your ridiculous dad for his failings,' its major attraction is the whimsy with which it is decorated, or suffused, or infested.' Also giving The Phoenician Scheme a 'fresh' take on RT is Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post, who writes, "At its fleeting best — in its meditation on the transactional and the transcendent — this one feels like it's reaching for something more than surface charm." In addition, Justin Chang of The New Yorker gives the film a 'fresh' rating on RT, albeit with some minor reservations, writing, 'The result is more digestible, though also less moving, than Anderson's recent Asteroid City, but it does have a stealth emotional weapon in [Mia] Threapleton's Liesl, who exudes the intelligence and self-possession of a young Anna Karina.' Coleman Spilde of Salon is among the top critics on RT who gives The Phoenician Scheme a 'rotten' rating, writing in his summary, 'The resulting product is just that: a product, with all of the matte pastel appeal of Anderson's oeuvre, yet little of its memorable charm.' Dana Stevens of Slate also gives The Phoenician Scheme a 'rotten' rating on RT, writing, 'For all its exquisite boxes-within-boxes compositions and cleverly designed sets, this whole movie unfolded for me as if behind a thick pane of emotion-proof glass.' Nicholas Barber of the BBC wasn't impressed by the film, either, writing in his 'rotten' take on RT, 'Some directors boast that they make the films that they want to see, and they don't care about pleasing anyone else. In the case of The Phoenician Scheme, it feels as if Anderson and his team were enjoying it more than audiences ever will.' The Phoenician Scheme is now playing in theaters in wide release.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Weeknd Might Not Be Retiring His Music Persona After All
The Weeknd has teased that Hurry Up Tomorrow— his sixth album and upcoming film of the same name— also marks the end of the artist fans have grown to love for over 15 years. However, that may not necessarily be the case. While promoting the film at CinemaCon 2025, Abel Tesfaye told EW that this moment feels like both a death and resurrection. 'It feels like it [the end of the Weeknd]. I mean, I've kind of toyed with the idea in the past with albums,' he noted. 'But it could also just be a rebirth. Who knows?' Back in January, the 35-year-old announced plans to retire his alter ego. 'It's a headspace I've gotta get into that I just don't have any more desire for,' he explained to Variety. 'You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more No. 1s. It never ends until you end it.' Hurry Up Tomorrow marks the conclusion in the trilogy that began with 2020's After Hours, which was followed by 2022's Dawn FM. The film follows a fictionalized version of himself, also named Abel, who gets taken on an insane ride by a seductive stranger, Anima (Jenna Ortega). Director Trey Edward Shults, shared with EW in February that he 'tried to make the movie in a way where, for his fans and people who want to approach it at that level, I hope it's very satisfying and you get a good meal out of it.' Shults confirmed that it was an 'absolute possibility' that the movie would be The Weeknd's last hurrah chapter, adding 'For people that aren't his fans and don't know anything about him or even care about the final capping of the Weeknd, I think you still have a great movie to go through.' The Weeknd considers the film to be 'really introspective and cathartic.' It hits theaters this Friday. More from The Weeknd's 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Film Trailer Hints At A Mind-Bending Experience The Weeknd Earns Fifth No. 1 Album With 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Debut The Weeknd Releases Star-Studded 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Movie Trailer
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Weeknd's ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow' Earns $3.3 Million Box Office Debut
The Weeknd's Hurry Up Tomorrow feature film experienced the chart-topping success shared by the singer's album of the same name. According to Variety, the movie, which stars the singer as well as Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan, earned $3.3 million in its opening against a $15 million budget. The debut landed Hurry Up Tomorrow at No. 6 at the box office. Directed by Trey Edward Shults, Hurry Up Tomorrow stars the Grammy-winning artist as a musician plagued by insomnia. In the film, he is pulled into an odyssey with a stranger who begins to unravel the very core of his existence. 'I tried to make the movie in a way where, for his fans and people who want to approach it at that level, I hope it's very satisfying and you get a good meal out of it,' explained Shults. The chart-topping singer also detailed his motivation behind the thrilling project. 'Failure is the best school,' relayed the 35-year-old to The New York Times. 'This film is emotionally cathartic. It brought the love back, the joy back into what I always loved about film.' In a conversation with HypeBeast, Ortega elaborated on the 'environment' created by Shults while filming. 'Working with Trey is so singular. I can't compare it to any other experience that I've had on set, and I've been doing this for over 12 years. I love challenges. I love trying new things. Trey created an environment where it felt like you were free to try whatever you wanted,' described the 22-year-old. 'Music is such an important part of my life and who I am as a person, so having music intertwined was exciting — getting to watch the companion process come together in real time. Being able to combine film and music — the combination of the score and a facial expression — has the power to ignite something in people. This is a perfect marriage of the two.' Watch the trailer for Hurry Up Tomorrow above and check out The Weeknd's album below. More from The Weeknd Might Not Be Retiring His Music Persona After All The Weeknd's 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Film Trailer Hints At A Mind-Bending Experience The Weeknd Earns Fifth No. 1 Album With 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Debut
