Bleecker Street has acquired the US distribution rights to NDA, a psychological thriller starring Golden Globe winner Rachel Zegler, You actor Penn Badgley and Academy Award nominee Amy Ryan.
The film is currently in production in New York and marks the feature directorial debut of Audrey Ellis Fox, reports Variety.
Zegler stars as Dana, a woman facing what the filmmakers describe as “a maddening day of mediation” after filing an office harassment complaint. According to the official logline, “As the clock ticks towards an immutable deadline, she questions the price of her silence, sanity, and the truth.”
“I’m thrilled to be collaborating with Rachel, Penn, Amy, Bleecker, and the rest of this exceptional team to bring my film to screen,” Ellis Fox said. “NDA is a story about power and perception, and it’s incredibly exciting to work with partners who so fiercely believe in its vision.”
The screenplay, written by Ellis Fox, featured on the 2024 Black List after being selected for the Women in Film x Black List Feature Residency programme in 2023.
The film is produced by Jared Ian Goldman and Zola Elgart Glassman for Mighty Engine, Keith Calder and Jess Wu Calder for SNOOT, Caitlin Gold for Tanbark Pictures, and Daniel Ginsberg for In The Cut Productions. Ellis Fox also serves as an executive producer alongside Bleecker Street chief executive officer Kent Sanderson, Tyler DiNapoli, Miranda King and Christian Hall.
“NDA was one of the best scripts I’ve read and is exactly the kind of bold, filmmaker-driven cinema we’re passionate about championing,” Sanderson said. “Audrey is a tremendous talent, and we’re honoured to collaborate with her and the equally talented Rachel to bring this story to life.”
Although this is Ellis Fox’s first feature film, she has directed commercial and narrative projects for Nike, Netflix, McLaren, Gatorade, Amazon, Nestlé and Adidas, and has worked with Salma Hayek, Hailey Bieber and Simu Liu.
Zegler rose to prominence after landing the lead role in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, earning a Golden Globe for her performance. She later starred in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Disney’s live-action Snow White. Most recently, she won the Olivier Award for Best Actress for Evita and is set to reprise the role on Broadway in 2027. Her upcoming projects also include Lin-Manuel Miranda’s adaptation of Octet and the dramedy She Gets It from Me.
Badgley most recently produced and starred in Netflix’s thriller series You, portraying serial killer Joe Goldberg, and made his directorial debut during the show’s five-season run. After co-producing and co-hosting the podcast Podcrushed, he will next appear in the romantic comedy You Deserve Each Other alongside Meghann Fahy.
Ryan received an Academy Award nomination for Gone Baby Gone and has also appeared in Birdman, Bridge of Spies, Beautiful Boy and Beau Is Afraid. Her television credits include The Office, The Wire, In Treatment and Only Murders in the Building. She will next appear in Oscar-winning filmmaker Tom McCarthy’s upcoming film A Statement.
