The Orchard Acquires North American Rights To Paul Lieberstein and Starstream Media’s “Song of Back and Neck”
Jul 13, 2018
Romantic comedy premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in April
Los Angeles, CA, July 13, 2018 – The Orchard announced today that the company has secured North American rights to Song Of Back and Neck, written and directed by first-time filmmaker Paul Lieberstein. The Emmy® award-winning writer, producer and actor, best known for his work on the American version of The Office, stars in the film alongside Rosemarie DeWitt (United States of Tara, Mad Men, La La Land), Brian D’Arcy James (13 Reasons Why, Molly’s Game, Smash), Robert Pine (Jobs, Kaplan’s Korner), Clark Duke (The Office, I’m Dying Up Here, Kick-Ass), and Paul Feig (Freaks and Geeks, Spy, Ghostbusters). Song Of Back and Neck is slated for a 2018 release.
Fred wakes, collapses on the floor in back pain, and continues his day as usual, on the floor. It’s hardly the first time – he’s resigned to a life of pain, having tried every remedy possible and been told by a top surgeon (Paul Feig) that there’s nothing to be done. But he hasn’t yet tried having an affair with a client (Rosemarie DeWitt) at the start of her complicated divorce. He hasn’t yet tried her acupuncturist, whose 200 needles in Fred’s back reveal a bizarre talent. And he hasn’t yet begun to wonder if his problems are more psychological than physical.
“Everybody I know is either close to somebody with chronic back pain or has it themselves, and that creates an ideal setting for a romantic comedy — it’s hard to believe I got here first. I suspect we will soon see hundreds upon hundreds of films set in the world of back pain,” said Paul Lieberstein. “I’m thrilled to be working with The Orchard on this. I’ve been really lucky to find partners in Starstream, Exhibit, and now The Orchard, all committed to taking chances on something different.”
“Never before has one man’s back pain caused as much laughter as Paul Lieberstein’s,” said Producer Jennifer Prediger. “A funny movie about a man getting in touch with his anger could not come at a better time.”
“Song Of Back and Neck is pure Paul Lieberstein, and that’s a compliment,” said Paul Davidson, EVP of Film and TV, The Orchard. “It’s a smart, biting and hilarious film that takes chances in ways that are both fresh and surprising. Isn’t that enough? It was for us.”
Song Of Back and Neck is produced by Lieberstein (Afternoon Nap) and Kim Leadford and Jennifer Prediger of StarStream Media. Executive Producers are Fernando Loureiro, Roberto Vasconcellos (Exhibit), Candice Abela-Mikati (Boo Pictures), Allen Babakhanloo and Lauren Russell.
The deal was negotiated by The Orchard’s Danielle DiGiacomo and CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers.
The Orchard is also behind the recent release of Bart Layton’s American Animals, one of the year’s strongest independent film debuts, acquired in partnership with MoviePass Ventures. Upcoming releases include the Colombian crime drama Birds Of Passage, directed by Cristina Gallegos and Ciro Guerra; Jeremiah Zagar’s We The Animals, which won the NEXT Innovator Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival; and Eva Vives’ All About Nina.
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About The Orchard
The Orchard is a leading independent film, TV and music distribution company operating in over 30 markets worldwide. Founded as a music distributor in 1997, The Orchard is a global innovator in the film and television distribution space, known for cutting-edge technology that provides filmmakers with up-to-the minute trending data and analytics on their projects. Recent film releases include American Animals, Flower, Outside In, Kings, William Friedkin’s The Devil and Father Amorth, BPM (Beats Per Minute), Thelma, Super Dark Times, Sundance Jury Prize winner Dina, The Work, 11/8/16, Trophy and The Hero. Upcoming releases include We The Animals, Under the Eiffel Tower, Birds of Passage and All About Nina. The company’s film division has enjoyed recent successes as the Academy Award®-nominated documentaries Cartel Land and Life, Animated; Taika Waititi’s The Hunt for the Wilderpeople; Academy Award-winner Morgan Neville’s The Music of Strangers; Alex Lehmann’s Blue Jay; Antonio Campos’ Christine; Pablo Larrain’s critically acclaimed, Golden Globe-nominated Neruda; Oren Moverman’s The Dinner; and Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent.
About StarStream Media
StarStream is a television and motion picture production and financing company focused on producing and financing edgy, high quality content with top storytellers, strong casts and lean budgets for a commercial audience.
Starstream has produced Life of Crime (Lionsgate) (Jennifer Aniston, Tim Robbins, John Hawkes, Will Forte and Mos Def), Life After Beth (A24 Films) (Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C Reilly and Molly Shannon), Yoga Hosers (Invincible/Netflix) (Lily-Rose Depp, Harley Quinn Smith, Johnny Depp, Michael Parks, Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment and Genesis Rodriguez), Joshy (Lionsgate/Hulu) (Thomas Middleditch, Adam Pally, Alex Ross Perry, Nick Kroll, Jenny Slate and Brett Gelman), The Little Hours (Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, John C Reilly and Molly Shannon), Huntsville (Sophie Turner and Dylan McDermott), and Killing Gunther (Taran Killam, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bobby Moynihan, Cobie Smulders).