Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have acquired Somewhere in Queens, Ray Romano’s debut feature as a director that bowed at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Roadside plans a theatrical release in 2023 for the comic drama that Romano stars in, co-wrote with Mark Stegemann and also produced.
“Ray Romano has delivered an outstanding directorial debut, creating a vibrant family tapestry that is immediately relatable and heartfelt. We are very proud to be distributing the film with our partners at Roadside and feel it will really connect with audiences,” Eda Kowan, Lionsgate’s executive vp acquisitions and co-productions, said in a statement on Tuesday.
In the film, Romano stars as Leo Russo, who lives a simple life in Queens, New York, with his wife, Angela (Laurie Metcalf), their shy but talented son (Jacob Ward), and Leo’s Italian American relatives and neighbors. That includes Lo Bianco as Leo’s father and Sebastian Maniscalco as his younger brother.
When his son gets a surprising offer to play college basketball, Leo jumps at the chance to fulfill his own hopes and dreams as a father, only for heartbreak to derail his son and make Leo work to keep him on a new path.
Somewhere in Queens also stars Sadie Stanley, Dierdre Friel and Jon Manfrellotti, and is produced by Romano, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa and Stegemann.
“I am so excited to know that Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions will be bringing this movie to theaters everywhere. I lived with every facet of this production for years, as a director, co-writer, actor and producer. It’s such a personal story for me, and it’s inspiring to see these two companies step up because they believe in the movie as much as I do,” Romano said in his own statement.
The acquisition was negotiated by Kowan, Roadside’s Howard Cohen, and Lionsgate’s Grace Duplissea and Kaycee Holcomb, while CAA, Range Select and Del Shaw negotiated for the filmmakers.
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