The Mise En Scene Firm has boarded worldwide gross sales on “Forelock,” a darkish comedy toplined by David Krumholtz and Caleb Alexander Smith, with Smith making his solo directorial debut on the mission.

Smith wrote and helmed the Los Angeles-set movie, through which he stars as a wannabe health coach whose resemblance to a serious film star attracts the eye of Krumholtz’s Hollywood Boulevard con artist character. The duo’s partnership spirals into prison territory in what’s being billed as a satirical tackle Hollywood desires gone flawed.

For Krumholtz, the mission represents his first starring automobile following his acclaimed supporting flip in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” The versatile actor has constructed a repute by collaborations with auteur filmmakers together with the Coen Brothers and Seth Rogen, most not too long ago incomes reward for Rogen’s Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ collection “The Studio.”

The actor’s upcoming slate features a function as Zor-El in DC Studios’ 2026 tentpole “Supergirl,” Scott Cooper’s Bruce Springsteen biopic “Ship Me from Nowhere,” and A24’s “Altar.”

Smith has tv credit together with “Brooklyn 9-9” and “Trendy Household.” He’s set for a recurring function in Ryan Murphy’s Hulu collection “All’s Truthful,” which stars Naomi Watts, Glenn Shut and Kim Kardashian. He beforehand directed 2017’s “The Spearhead Impact” alongside Brandon Moore.

The supporting solid options Emily Swallow (“The Mandalorian”) and Chloe Farnworth, who appeared in A24’s “MaXXXine.”

The acquisition marks a serious coup for Mise En Scéne, which has operated for 5 years and is positioning itself as a big international gross sales agent with the deal.

“That is the form of movie that offers you religion in the way forward for cinema — one thing each passionate movie firm desires of engaged on,” mentioned Paul Yates, CEO of The Mise En Scene Firm. “It has the aptitude of ‘Inherent Vice,’ the murky depths and romance of ‘Midnight Cowboy’ and the comedic brilliance of ‘Withnail and I.’ You recognize if you’re 15 and falling in love with cinema, and also you see a movie that stays with you for the remainder of your life? ‘Forelock’ is that movie.”

“Forelock” is the inaugural manufacturing from Midnight Chimes, the brand new shingle launched by sports activities broadcaster Lindsay McCormick and Smith. McCormick produces with Russ Hammonds (“The Diplomat,” “Boardwalk Empire”) and Krumholtz government producing. Midnight Chimes LLC co-financed the indie.

“Mise En Scene introduced us with a daring, tenacious, but nimble imaginative and prescient for bringing ‘Forelock’ into the world,” McCormick mentioned. “As we weighed choices for a worldwide gross sales companion, MSC stood out for his or her style, ingenuity, and the pristine observe file they’ve constructed as businesspeople. Unbiased filmmakers put a lot on the road when crafting a movie, and ‘Forelock’ is not any exception. From capturing throughout Los Angeles at a time when few dare, to elevating a big finances exterior the same old packaging system, ‘Forelock’ is constructed to occupy uncommon area within the movie ecosystem: an auteur-driven work with extensive viewers enchantment.”

The manufacturing shot fully on location in Los Angeles with BAFTA-nominated DP Roberto Schaefer (“Quantum of Solace,” “Stranger Than Fiction”) and veteran gaffer Jim Plannette (“Braveheart,” “E.T.”). The movie was among the many first initiatives to renew manufacturing following the 2023 business strikes.

With on-location filming in Los Angeles down greater than 30% over the previous 5 years, the producers positioned the mission as a love letter to the town’s contradictions.

“LA always finds itself on the heart of nationwide controversy, and ‘Forelock’ gives a satirical however unflinching have a look at the town,” McCormick famous. “From über-hip galleries on Abbot Kinney to homeless encampments lining Hollywood Boulevard, we wished the film to wade into the contradictions of a metropolis teetering between fantasy and freefall.”

Yates and Rory MacDonald negotiated for Mise En Scene, with David Roth figuring out the acquisition. McCormick dealt with the deal for Midnight Chimes.

The gross sales firm will debut “Forelock” to pick patrons on the Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition.