Poetic License, Maude Apatow’s critical darling from last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, has landed at Sony Pictures Classics in a worldwide deal, with a theatrical release planned for 2027.
Poetic License, written by Raffi Donatich, follows a soon-to-be empty nester (Leslie Mann) who audits a college poetry class after her family moves to a small college town. In the class, she befriends two co-eds (Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman) who, unbeknownst to her, start competing for her affections.
Nico Parker, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Martha Kelly, Maisy Stella and Will Price also star in the film that was produced by Judd Apatow.
Josh Church, Benjamin Hung, Thalia Daniel, Olivia Rosenbloom and Will Greenfield also produced. Executive producers include Jamal Daniel, Michelle Upton, Renee Witt, Harrison Kreiss and Jay Cassidy.
“I grew up watching and loving the films released by Sony Pictures Classics. They shaped my understanding of what movies could be. To now be working alongside Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and the entire team is a dream come true,” said Maude Apatow, who also produced the movie.
The Sony Classic pick-up comes after Poetic License was caught up in the implosion of Row K, the upstart distribution company that saw the exit of its top executives after the company faced reported money troubles.
Row K acquired the movie out of TIFF, where it also acquired Gus van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire. Less than a year into operation, the outfit was showing signs of stress with the exit of several executives, including president Megan Colligan, chief revenue officer Mo Rhim and chief marketing officer Ben Carlson. After Row K couldn’t fulfill its obligations as the film’s distributor, WME Independent began seeking other buyers, negotiating this deal with Sony Pictures Classics on behalf of the filmmakers.
As for its other titles, Row K is in talks to partner with Neon on the release of the Cliffhanger reimagining starring Lily James.
