Vanishing Angle has boarded Sundance selection “Mope” by Lucas Heyne, which had its European premiere at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain this week. L.A.-based producer, distributor, and sales outfit Vanishing Angle will sell “Mope” internationally. XYZ is handling North America.
The movie played in the Midnight section at Sundance. Set in the porn industry, it is based on real life events. It follows a pair of mopes – slang for low-ranking male actors in the adult film business – played by Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (“Misfits”) and Kelly Sry (“Awkward”). The duo are best friends, but when one of them is fired, he goes on a deadly rampage.
The film covers the true-crime angle but also deals with the emotional toll the porn business takes on its workers. David Arquette stars as Rocket, a leading porn director whom the two aspiring actors idolize.
The pic was made with the support of the families of the real-life victims. “Throughout the process, I became very close with all the surviving people involved in this story,” Heyne said. “They provided me a window into a world not many people know about. And I felt it vital to portray this story in the most realistic and frank manner possible.”
Vanishing Angle launched its sales arm in 2018 with Jim Cummings’ indie pic “Thunder Road,” which won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize. “’Mope’ is such a carefully crafted project from conception through execution,” said Benjamin Wiessner, Vanishing Angle’s VP of sales and acquisitions. “The detailed attention creates an incisive vision of America’s broken promises we know will entertain and astound audiences.”
Parkside Pictures, Uncooperative Pictures, and Saxton Cinema produced the film.