Jim Gavin, Creator and Showrunner of Lodge 49, Writes and will Direct
Tea Shop Producing following Massive Sleeper Hit ‘Obsession’
Manifest Pictures has boarded international sales ahead of the American Film Market on the horror pic BOUTIQUE, produced by and starring two-time Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti (The Debut, The Holdovers) with BAFTA award winner Simon Pegg (Mission: Impossible and Star Trek feature franchises) set to co-star opposite Giamatti. The announcement was made today by Manifest Pictures’ co-CEOs Yvette Zhuang and Zach Glueck. UTA Independent Film Group will rep domestic rights.
Giamatti and Dan Carey will produce through their company Touchy Feely Films (“Outsiders”), alongside Chris Dodds, Charlie Alderman, and Greg Field for Prospect (Fantasy Life), and James Harris and Mark Lane for Tea Shop Productions, the production company behind the recent breakout horror hit Obsession, which grossed more than $500 million worldwide. Prospect is financing, and Jacob Jaffke (Maxxxine) serves as executive producer.
Boutique marks writer-director Jim Gavin’s feature debut, reuniting him with Touchy Feely, producers of the AMC quirky comedy-drama series “Lodge 49,” which Gavin created and show ran.
The film follows an American tourist (Giamatti) who travels to the eerie English seaside town that inspired the work of his favorite reclusive author (Pegg), only to become entangled with a murderous secret society permeating the whole town.
“Cults have long fascinated us, and BOUTIQUE taps into that intrigue with a wickedly original exploration of the pull these secretive societies have always had on our imaginations,” said Manifest.
“Jim has delivered something distinctly fresh while capturing the thrills of classics from Psycho to Hereditary,” James Harris from Tea Shop added.
“BOUTIQUE is dark, hysterical, and utterly twisted. We are honored to help realize Jim Gavin’s gothic fever dream,” Prospect commented.
“We feel lucky to work with Jim again at this moment in his career. He came to us fully formed as a storyteller, with a natural talent for shaping actors’ performances and building unique worlds on screen. As producers on Lodge 49, Paul and I witnessed Jim’s deft hand managing large teams, significant budgets and all the machinery required to bring an ambitious, original piece of work to life,” said Dan Carey.
Giamatti won the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award and was nominated for the SAG, BAFTA and Academy Award for Best Actor for Focus Features’ The Holdovers. He currently stars opposite Julianne Moore in Jesse Eisenberg’s dark comedy musical The Debut. Giamatti will next be seen in two-time Oscar-winner Tom McCarthy’s upcoming comedy-drama, A Statement.
BAFTA winner Simon Pegg is best known for his recurring roles as Benji Dunn in the Mission: Impossible series of films and Scotty in three Star Trek feature films, as well headlining and co-creating the iconic Cornetto Trilogy of British comedies. Pegg will next feature in Season 3 of Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” as the voice of the Balrog.
Giamatti is repped by UTA, Kipperman Management and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Pegg is repped by Dawn Sedgwick Management; Gavin is repped by UTA and Anonymous Content.
ABOUT TOUCHY FEELY FILMS
TOUCHY FEELY FILMS is a New York-based production company run by producers Paul Giamatti and Dan Carey. Paul is best known for his acting work in a wide array of film and TV including The Holdovers, Billions, Private Life, John Adams, Sideways, American Splendor and most recently The Debut. Dan is a veteran independent film producer whose work includes Sundance grand jury prize winner Padre Nuestro, SXSW winner Live Free or Die, and Matthew Porterfield’s I Used to be Darker. Together as producers they have created an eclectic mix of television, independent films over the company’s history – include the television series Lodge 49 (AMC) and Outsiders (WGN); films Cold Souls, All is Bright, Pretty Bird and John Dies at the End; and the podcast series Paul Giamatti’s Chinwag with Stephen Asma.
ABOUT TEA SHOP PRODUCTIONS
TEA SHOP is an LA and London based production company run by producers James Harris and Mark Lane, with a focus on commercial genre productions for Film and Television. In 2019 the company partnered with Phil Hunt and Head Gear Films. Since their debut, Mark and James have produced a wide range of features crossing multiple genres and budgets. These include Cockneys vs Zombies for Studio canal; Tower Block with Jack O’Connell; Strangers: Prey at Night; I Am Not A Serial Killer; and The Informer starring Joel Kinnaman and Rosamund Pike. In 2016, they produced Johannes Roberts’ smash hit underwater thriller 47 Meters Down, which, on release, became the most successful independent film at the US box office in 2017. Reuniting the original team, they followed this up with sequel 47 Meters Down: Uncaged.
ABOUT PROSPECT
Prospect is a production company and financier committed to ambitious and distinctive filmmaking founded by producer Chris Dodds, former Focus Features executive Charlie Alderman, and Greg Field. The company’s first two films are Matthew Shear’s Fantasy Life (SXSW Audience Award 2025) and Oscar Hudson’s BIFA-nominated Straight Circle (Venice Film Festival Critics’ Week Grand Prize 2025). Prospect is currently in post-production on Sundance Labs filmmaker Casey Modderno’s debut feature Here for the Weekend, which is eyeing a 2027 festival premiere.
ABOUT MANIFEST PICTURES
Led by Co-CEOs Yvette Zhuang and Zach Glueck, Manifest Pictures is the dynamic international sales agency backed by renowned production and financing company QC Entertainment (Get Out, BlacKkKlansman). Manifest also shares a strategic partnership with Gramercy Park Media (The Surfer, Sunny, A24’s Famous). Zhuang led global sales and distribution on Miramax’s slate of feature films including The Beekeeper, Oscar winner The Holdovers, and The Gentlemen, and previously held posts at STX and Sierra Affinity. Glueck was co-head of international at WME Independent, and has packaged and sold over 100 independent films including Nuremberg, Book Club and A24’s The Death of Robin Hood. With their strategic partnerships and relationships with third-party producers, financiers, and filmmakers, Manifest will bring to market titles from edgy genre fare to star-driven franchises, and act as a one-stop shop for producers looking to get their films to greenlight. Manifest’s current slate includes the soccer drama Baton, written and starring Danny Ramirez (upcoming Miami Vice ’85, Top Gun: Maverick), who also directs in his feature directorial debut. Executive Produced by David Beckham, the film features a dynamic ensemble cast including Rosario Dawson, Lewis Pullman, Eugenio Derbez, Edgar Ramírez, Gabriel Luna, Maia Reficco, Diego Calva, Camila Mendes, Ester Expósito, Noah Beck and Becky G; James Morosini’s erotic thriller Bulls starring Dylan O’Brien, Lewis Pullman and Kaia Gerber, and produced by powerhouse Roth/Kirschenbaum Films, the production company behind Sony Pictures’ box office sensation Anyone But You; A Body in the Woods, a horror thriller written and directed by Stephen Cognetti, creator of the cult-favorite Hell House franchise, starring Emma Roberts (Scream 4, Nerve, The Blackcoat’s Daughter) and produced by Dave Caplan (The Monkey, Longlegs); and The Weight, starring 5x Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke and Academy Award Winner Russell Crowe, directed by Padraic McKinley in his directorial debut.
