Winner (2024 film)

Last updated

Winner
Winner 2024 poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Susanna Fogel
Screenplay by Kerry Howley
Based on"Who Is Reality Winner?"
by Kerry Howley
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Steve Yedlin
Edited byJoseph Krings
Music by Heather McIntosh
Production
companies
Distributed by Vertical
Release dates
  • January 20, 2024 (2024-01-20)(Sundance)
  • September 13, 2024 (2024-09-13)(United States)
Running time
103 minutes [1]
Countries
  • Canada
  • United States
LanguageEnglish

Winner is a 2024 black comedy drama film directed by Susanna Fogel and written by Kerry Howley. The film stars Emilia Jones as Reality Winner. It also stars Connie Britton, Danny Ramirez, Kathryn Newton and Zach Galifianakis.

Contents

It had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024, and was released on September 13, 2024, by Vertical.

Synopsis

The film is based on the life of Reality Winner, who leaked an intelligence report about Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. [2]

Cast

Production

Described as a darkly comedic biopic, Emilia Jones was confirmed to be portraying the whistle-blower Reality Winner from a script written by Kerry Howley based on her own 2017 New York magazine feature, "Who Is Reality Winner?," with Susanna Fogel also on board to direct. [3] It marks the second collaboration between Fogel and Jones following Cat Person . [4]

Casting

In October 2022 it was confirmed that principal photography had started with Connie Britton and Zach Galifianakis playing Winner’s parents and Kathryn Newton as her sister. [5] In May 2023 it was revealed Shannon Berry was part of the cast. [6]

Filming

Filming started around the areas in Winnipeg and elsewhere in Manitoba, [7] [8] and was wrapped in November 21, 2022.

Release

The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024. [9] In May 2024, Vertical acquired distribution rights to the film. [10] It was released on September 13, 2024. [11]

Reception

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 56% of 18 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.10/10. [12] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 60 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molly Shannon</span> American actress and comedian (born 1964)

Molly Shannon is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2001. In 2017, she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her playing Joanne Mulcahey in the Chris Kelly autobiographical film Other People.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zach Galifianakis</span> American actor and comedian (born 1969)

Zachary Knight Galifianakis is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his role as Alan in The Hangover trilogy (2009–2013). On television, he starred in the FX series Baskets (2016–2019), which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2017. He also hosted the Funny or Die talk show Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis (2008–2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoe Saldaña</span> American actress (born 1978)

Zoë Yadira Saldaña-Perego is an American actress. Known primarily for her work in science fiction film franchises, she has starred in four of the highest-grossing films of all time. Films she has appeared in have grossed more than $15 billion worldwide and, as of 2024, she is the second highest-grossing lead actress and the highest-grossing actress overall. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connie Britton</span> American actress (born 1967)

Connie Britton is an American actress. Britton made her feature film debut in the independent comedy-drama film The Brothers McMullen (1995), and the following year, she was cast as Nikki Faber on the ABC sitcom Spin City. She later starred in the short-lived sitcoms The Fighting Fitzgeralds (2001) and Lost at Home (2003), and appeared in several films, most notably the sports drama film Friday Night Lights (2004) and the thriller film The Last Winter (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Newton</span> American actress (born 1997)

Kathryn Love Newton is an American actress and semi-professional golfer. She is known for her starring roles as Louise Brooks in the CBS comedy series Gary Unmarried (2008–2010), Abigail Carlson in the HBO mystery drama series Big Little Lies (2017–2019), and Allie Pressman in the Netflix teen drama series The Society (2019). She is also known for portraying the older versions of Claire Novak in The CW dark fantasy series Supernatural (2014–2018) and Joanie Clark in the AMC period drama series Halt and Catch Fire (2016–2017).

<i>Masterminds</i> (2016 film) 2016 US crime comedy film by Jared Hess

Masterminds is a 2016 crime comedy film based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery in North Carolina. Directed by Jared Hess and written by Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer and Emily Spivey, it stars Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Jason Sudeikis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Garner</span> American actress (born 1994)

Julia Garner is an American actress. She gained recognition for playing Ruth Langmore in the Netflix crime drama series Ozark (2017–2022), for which she received critical acclaim and won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emilia Jones</span> British actress (born 2002)

Emilia Annis I. Jones is a British actress. She is best known for her lead role as a child of deaf adults in the drama film CODA (2021), for which she received a British Academy Film Award nomination for Best Actress. She is also known for starring in the Netflix adventure series Locke & Key (2020–2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susanna Fogel</span> American director, screenwriter and author

Susanna Fogel is an American director, screenwriter and author, best known for co-writing the 2019 film Booksmart and for co-writing and directing the 2018 action/comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me. Her many accolades include a DGA Award and nominations at the BAFTA Film Awards, the Primetime Emmy Awards and the WGA Awards.

<i>Beatriz at Dinner</i> 2017 film by Miguel Arteta

Beatriz at Dinner is a 2017 comedy-drama film directed by Miguel Arteta and written by Mike White. An international co-production between the United States and Canada, it stars Salma Hayek, John Lithgow, Connie Britton, Jay Duplass, Amy Landecker, Chloë Sevigny, and David Warshofsky. It follows a holistic medicine practitioner who attends a wealthy client's dinner party after her car breaks down.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerry Howley</span> American writer

Kerry Howley is an American feature writer at New York magazine, a professor at the University of Iowa's Nonfiction Writing Program, and a screenwriter. She is the author of the work of literary nonfiction Thrown (2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reality Winner</span> American intelligence translator (born 1991)

Reality Leigh Winner is an American U.S. Air Force veteran and former NSA translator. In 2018, she was given the longest prison sentence ever imposed for an unauthorized release of government information to the media after she leaked an intelligence report about Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. She was sentenced to five years and three months in federal prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geraldine Viswanathan</span> Australian actress, comedian, writer and producer

Geraldine Indira Viswanathan is an Australian actress, comedian, writer and producer. She gained attention in the role of Kayla in the 2018 film Blockers, for which Refinery29 referred to her as "the film's breakout star". Viswanathan starred in the 2019 coming-of-age film Hala, as well as Bad Education. She also played a recurring role in the Australian series Janet King, and stars in the TBS comedy anthology Miracle Workers (2019–2023).

<i>Between Two Ferns: The Movie</i> American comedy film

Between Two Ferns: The Movie is a 2019 American comedy film directed by Scott Aukerman and starring Zach Galifianakis that acts as a spin-off of the web series of the same name. The film was released on September 20, 2019, on Netflix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reinaldo Marcus Green</span> American filmmaker

Reinaldo Marcus Green is an American director, producer and writer. His films include Monsters and Men (2018), Joe Bell (2020), and Bob Marley: One Love (2024). His 2021 film, King Richard, was nominated for Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards.

<i>Breaking</i> (film) 2022 American film

Breaking is a 2022 American thriller drama film starring John Boyega as a Marine Corps veteran, Brian Brown-Easley, who is in financial trouble and robs a bank. It is written and directed by Abi Damaris Corbin and co-written by Kwame Kwei-Armah, based on the true story of Brown-Easley, detailed in the 2018 Task & Purpose article "They Didn't Have to Kill Him" by Aaron Gell. The film also stars Nicole Beharie, Selenis Leyva, Connie Britton, Jeffrey Donovan, and Michael Kenneth Williams.

<i>Cat Person</i> (film) 2023 film by Susanna Fogel

Cat Person is a 2023 psychological thriller film directed by Susanna Fogel from a screenplay by Michelle Ashford, based on the 2017 short story of the same name by Kristen Roupenian. The film stars Emilia Jones, Nicholas Braun, Geraldine Viswanathan, Hope Davis, Fred Melamed, and Isabella Rossellini.

Shannon Berry is an Australian television actress. She played Dot Campbell on two series of Prime Video series The Wilds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Sundance Film Festival</span> Edition of film festival

The 2024 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 18 to 28, 2024. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 6, 2023.

References

  1. "Winner". Sundance Film Festival . Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  2. "Emilia Jones to Star in 'Winner' as Whistleblower Who Exposed Russia's Interference in 2016 Election". Variety. October 24, 2022. Archived November 1, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Emilia Jones, Connie Britton, Danny Ramirez & More to Star in Susanna Fogel's 'Winner'". Collider. October 24, 2022. Archived November 1, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Emilia Jones and Susanna Fogel's Team Up For Reality Winner Biopic". Womenandhollywood.com. Archived November 1, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Emilia Jones To Lead 'Winner' Biopic From Susanna Fogel; Zach Galifianakis And Connie Britton Also Star". Deadline. October 24, 2022. Archived November 1, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Whittock, Jesse (May 16, 2023). "'Winner': Shannon Berry Joins Susanna Fogel's Biopic About Reality Winner". Deadline Hollywood.
  7. "Emilia Jones, Zach Galifianakis to Star in Manitoba-Shot 'Winner' Biopic". chrisd.ca. October 25, 2022. Archived November 1, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Locally shot film focuses on whistleblower's origin story". winnipegfreepress.com. October 25, 2022. Archived November 1, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  9. D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 6, 2023). "Sundance Unveils Packed 2024 Lineup That Includes A.I., Pedro Pascal, Kristen Stewart, Satan, Devo & Steven Yeun". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  10. Grobar, Matt (May 9, 2024). "Susanna Fogel's 'Winner' Starring Emilia Jones, Connie Britton & Zach Galifianakis Acquired By Vertical". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  11. McArdle, Tommy (August 29, 2024). "Winner Trailer: Emilia Jones Stars in New Take on True Story of Reality Winner's NSA Leak (Exclusive)". People . Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  12. "Winner (2024)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  13. "Winner". Metacritic . Retrieved September 12, 2024.