FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS ACQUIRES WORLDWIDE RIGHTS TO UNTITLED TOM MCCARTHY FILM FROM ACADEMY AWARD® WINNING FILMMAKER TOM MCCARTHY
Production to begin at the end of February
NEW YORK (January 16, 2026) – Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired all rights worldwide to UNTITLED TOM MCCARTHY film from Academy Award® winner McCarthy (SPOTLIGHT, THE VISITOR). The film is set to begin production at the end of February and is dedicated to the late Steve Golin.
Sony Pictures Classics will co-finance UNTITLED TOM MCCARTHY FILM. The film will be produced by Jonathan King, David Levine for Anonymous Content, Jim Whitaker, and McCarthy for Slow Pony. Jonathan Schwartz, Nick Shumaker, and Bard Dorros of Anonymous Content serve as producers alongside Mary Aloe of Aloe Entertainment. Executive Producers include Alex Gibney, Wendy Schmidt, Richard Perello, and Robert Kessel for Jigsaw Productions; Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for Artists Equity; Alex Lebovici for Hammerstone Studios; Thomas Bidegan, Noé Debré, and Nathaniel Rich; Billy James Parrott; Laurene Powell Jobs and Davis Guggenheim for Concordia; Andrew Lauren and Blye Faust on behalf of Andrew Lauren Productions; and Rob Rosenheck for Galisteo Media.
Based on Nathaniel Rich’s revelatory book Losing Earth, UNTITLED TOM MCCARTHY FILM is a dramatic, darkly comic, true story that asks if it’s possible for any group of people to sit together and tackle the problems of our time when we can’t agree on how to arrange the chairs. Thomas Bidegan, Noé Debré, and Tom McCarthy adapted the screenplay.
At a beachside resort in Florida in 1980, twenty experts gather for a weekend conference on a global issue that is starting to gain traction: the effects of Co2 emissions on the climate. This group of scientists, activists, and policymakers have one simple mandate from Congress — write a statement about what to do. Easier said than done.
Said McCarthy, “What drew me to this story originally was the timeless idea that no matter our differences, we must find ways to work together if we have a hope of solving our problems. The joy of working on the movie so far has been realizing how entertaining that process can be. I feel incredibly lucky that these amazing partners including Anonymous Content and Sony Pictures Classics are all making it together for the right reasons.”
Sony Pictures Classics said, “A spectacular screenplay, dealing with an urgent subject, the UNTITLED TOM MCCARTHY FILM promises to be a major movie with a stellar cast and director Tom McCarthy, who we have wanted to work with since his first film (THE STATION AGENT) over 20 years ago. It is a privilege to be involved.”
The deal was negotiated between Sony Pictures Classics and Anonymous Content and CAA Media Finance on behalf of the producers. Adam Davids provided legal counsel.
ABOUT SONY PICTURES CLASSICS
Michael Barker and Tom Bernard serve as co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics—an autonomous division of Sony Pictures Entertainment they founded with Marcie Bloom in January 1992—which distributes, produces, and acquires independent films from around the world. Barker and Bernard have released prestigious films that have won 42 Academy Awards® (38 of those at Sony Pictures Classics) and have garnered 190 Academy Award® nominations (164 at Sony Pictures Classics) including Best Picture nominations for I’M STILL HERE, THE FATHER, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, WHIPLASH, AMOUR, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, AN EDUCATION, CAPOTE, HOWARDS END, and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.
ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services. http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html.
