Sundance 2018: Gunpowder & Sky Picks up Hearts Beat Loud

PARK CITY, UT – January 24, 2018 – Gunpowder & Sky, the global content studio, announced today that it has acquired the North American rights to Sundance veteran Brett Haley’s (I’ll See You In My Dreams, The Hero) Hearts Beat Loud, a touching ode to the bonding powers of music.

Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation”, The Little Hours) and Kiersey Clemons (Dope) star as a father and daughter living in Red Hook, Brooklyn who become an unlikely songwriting duo in the last summer before she leaves for college. The star-studded cast also includes Ted Danson (“The Good Place” and “Fargo”), Sasha Lane (American Honey), Blythe Danner (Meet the Parents) and Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine, “United States of Tara”).

Quickly becoming one of the more diverse and in-demand young composers, Keegan DeWitt, known for having 15 films at Sundance during the past five years as well as for scoring HBO’s “Divorce”, wrote four original songs for this film.

“We are thrilled to partner with Van Toffler and Gunpowder & Sky on our theatrical release,” said filmmaker Brett Haley. “Their vision and passion for the project was apparent, and their team’s expertise with music-driven films make them the ideal distributor to bring our movie to audiences across the country.”

Park Pictures, Burn Later Productions and HK Productions produced the film with Houston King, Sam Bisbee and Sam Slater as producers. Franklin Carson, Paul Bernon, David Bernon, Theodora Dunlap, Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Lance Acord, Danny Rifkin, Frank Brenner and Nick Offerman Executive Produced.

“Brett masterfully integrates music’s unique ability to bring people together across boundaries and generations,” said Van Toffler, CEO of Gunpowder & Sky. “The film’s uplifting spirit, accompanied by killer performances encapsulates life’s twisted emotional journey. We couldn’t be more fired up to work with Brett and the team to take the film out to the audiences.”

The deal was negotiated by Endeavor Content on behalf of the filmmakers and Janet Brown and Jake Hanly negotiating on behalf of Gunpowder & Sky. The film is planned for release in Summer 2018.

This news comes one year after Gunpowder & Sky acquired Sundance’s outrageous comedy of 2017, The Little Hours, which went on to be the top grossing film its opening weekend.

On Monday, Gunpowder & Sky premiered the RKSS (Turbo Kid) directed, Summer of ‘84 which delivers the camaraderie, adventure, joy and nostalgia of The Goonies and Stand by Me while four boys chase to uncover a mystery. The studio also debuted director Trevor Stevens’ first feature film, Rock Steady Row during Slamdance,

HEARTS BEAT LOUD SYNOPSIS

As single dad Frank (Nick Offerman) prepares to send hardworking daughter Sam (Kiersey Clemons) off to UCLA pre-med, he also reluctantly realizes he has to accept that his own record-store business is failing. Hoping to stay connected with his daughter through their shared love of music, he urges her to turn their weekly “jam sesh” into an actual band. Channeling Sam’s resistance into a band name, they unexpectedly find We’re Not a Band’s first song turning into a minor Spotify hit, and they use their songwriting efforts to work through their feelings about the life changes each of them faces.

Offerman and Clemons provide genuine warmth and chemistry as father and daughter, and they collaborate spiritedly on their characters’ catchy, heartfelt musical offerings, while Toni Collette and Sasha Lane contribute charming and multi-faceted performances of their own as the pair’s respective potential love interests. Director Brett Haley (a Sundance Film Festival alum with I’ll See You in My Dreams and The Hero) foregrounds sincerity and affection in this gentle, evocative ode to the bittersweetness of everyday life.