Sony Pictures Classics has picked up the worldwide rights to Wishful Thinking, Graham Parkes’ directorial debut that stars Lewis Pullman and Maya Hawke.
The romancer, which bowed in SXSW, follows Julia (Hawke), a frustrated video game designer, and Charlie (Pullman), a struggling musician, having supernatural impacts on the world after attending a couples therapy seminar to repair their volatile relationship.
“With earthquakes, the stock market, and entire nations at risk, Charlie and Julia must confront whether their passionate love can survive amidst so much chaos,” says a synopsis from the producers. The film also stars Amita Rao, Randall Park, Eric Rahill, Jake Shane, Kate Berlant and Kerri Kenney-Silver.
“Audiences have been craving a film like Wishful Thinking — romantic, unpredictable and genuinely funny — and we can’t wait for them to experience Maya and Lewis in these deeply human and refreshingly hilarious leading roles,” Sony Pictures Classics, which plans a 2027 theatrical release, said in a statement on Friday.
The film is produced by Pinky Promise, which co-produced another recent Sony Pictures Classics release, Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut Eleanor The Great. Wishful Thinking is also produced by Buckwild Pictures and Highway 10, who also financed the film.
Writer and director Graham Parkes added in his own statement: “Sony Pictures Classics has been a singular champion of independent cinema for nearly 35 years, releasing some of my favorite movies of all time. So to be included among the films first brought to an audience by them is truly the ultimate recognition for the passionate work our cast and crew put into making Wishful Thinking.”
The Hollywood Reporter film reviewer Angie Han said of Wishful Thinking after its SXSW premiere: “The strong chemistry between Pullman and Hawke ensures that even at their worst, Charlie and Julia never come across as hateful. Their jabs come from a place of wounded love, not cruelty or contempt, and they’re never so furious that they can’t make each other laugh by trying to sexy dance [their] way out of this, swaying their hips to ’80s synth-pop classics.”
The producer credits are shared by Pullman, Dan Gedman, Matt Smith and Kara Durrett, while Alyssa Roehrenbeck, Sarah Mather, Jessamine Burgum, Cameron Fuller and Graham Patrick Martin are executive producers.
The distribution deal was negotiated between Sony Pictures Classics and UTA Independent Film Group acting for the filmmakers.
