Roadside Attractions Acquires Bill Pohlad's Music-Inspired Drama DREAMIN' WILD starring Casey Affleck, Noah Jupe and Zooey Deschanel

Roadside Attractions has acquired North American rights to Dreamin' Wild, the true story of love and redemption written and directed by Academy Award® and Emmy® nominee Bill Pohlad (Love & Mercy). The film will open nationwide only in theatres August 4th, 2023, as announced by Roadside Attractions Co-Presidents Howard Cohen and Eric d'Arbeloff.

What if a childhood dream suddenly came true - but thirty years later? That's what happened to singer/songwriter Donnie Emerson and his family when the album he and his brother recorded as teens was rediscovered after thirty years of obscurity and was suddenly hailed by music critics as a lost masterpiece.

While the album's rediscovery brings hopes of second chances, it also brings long-buried emotions as Donnie, his wife Nancy, brother Joe, and father Don Sr. come to terms with the past and their newly found fame.

Similar to the approach he used in his award-winning directorial debut Love & Mercy, Pohlad uses two different actors to explore the real-life characters in different time periods, with Casey Affleck playing the older Donnie Emerson and Noah Jupe playing the younger. Walton Goggins and Jack Dylan Grazer take on Donnie's brother Joe, while Beau Bridges does double duty as THE FAMILY patriarch. Zooey Deschanel plays Donnie's wife Nancy.

"I'm honored to be back with Roadside Attractions for my next film since Love & Mercy", Pohlad said. "I'm hoping that audiences will connect with this family's heart-felt story as much as with Donnie's extraordinary music."

Eric d'Arbeloff, Roadside Attractions Co-President said "As he proved with his debut Love & Mercy, nobody understands the power of music to heal and transform lives better than Bill Pohlad. We are so excited to bring his second film, the story of a family whose lives were changed by making one classic record, to theatrical audiences this summer."

Featuring original music by Donnie Emerson, the film stars Academy Award® Winner Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea, Gone Baby Gone) Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place II, Honey Boy), Emmy®-nominated Zooey Deschanel (New Girl, 500 Days of Summer), Emmy®-nominated Walton Goggins (Justified, The Hateful Eight), Chris Messina (Argo, I Care a Lot), Jack Dylan Grazer (It, Shazam) and Emmy® and Grammy Award®-winning Beau Bridges (The Descendants, One Night in Miami, The Fabulous Baker Boys).

Dreamin' WILD was produced by Academy Award®-winner Jim Burke (Green Book), River Road's Academy Award® and Emmy®-nominated Bill Pohlad (Love & Mercy, The Tree of Life, American Utopia) and Kim Roth (Mudbound), and Zurich Avenue's Viviana Vezzani (Moonfall) and Karl Spoerri (The Old Man & the Gun).

Affleck executive produced with River Road's Emmy®-nominated Christa Workman (David Byrne's American Utopia), Dan Clifton (Brightburn), Steven Snyder (Opening Night, Split Glass) and, Tobias Gutzwiller (Moonfall).

A River Road Entertainment, Innisfree Pictures, Zurich Avenue production. Zurich Avenue co-financed alongside River Road.

The acquisition was negotiated by Roadside Attractions Co-President Howard Cohen and VP Acquisitions Angel An, and River Road's Co-President Christa Workman with CAA Media Finance representing the filmmakers.