Warner Bros. Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to Megan Park’s feature directorial debut. The winner of a grand jury and audience award at SXSW, “The Fallout” tells the story of a teenage girl (Jenna Ortega, “You”) struggling to heal in the aftermath of a school shooting. Maddie Ziegler (“Music”) co-stars.
A press release announced that the drama will be released exclusively on HBO Max. In markets where HBO Max isn’t available the pic will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
“Making ‘The Fallout’ was a journey I never expected to take and one that has changed me forever,” said Park, who also penned the script for the film. “If by seeing this film just one teen feels less alone, less afraid, or somehow understood, that will make the journey worth every step.”
Carolyn Blackwood, Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros. Pictures Group, added, “What Megan Park has created with ‘The Fallout’ is a sensitive and moving story, marking a stunning debut behind the camera, with an exceptional young cast led by a revelatory and powerful performance by Jenna Ortega and an emotionally impactful turn from Maddie Ziegler.”
Also an actress, Park’s on-screen credits include “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” “Jane the Virgin,” and “Young Sheldon.”
Asked why she was drawn to making “The Falling,” Park told us, “I sat down to write the film after almost a year of wanting to talk about the subject of school shootings. I was upset and enraged and really scared. I knew I didn’t want to make a movie that would ever incite more violence or be triggering to anyone who had been through this experience — I felt a huge responsibility to do it justice but to also make it really honest,” she emphasized. “I also felt that if I was a teenager right now, I’d be terrified to go to school every day. I wanted to tell that side of the story.”
Park also shared advice for other women directors. “You will ask yourself several times throughout the process, ‘Would I be getting this pushback, this rude e-mail, this aggression for having a conflicting opinion if I was a man?’ The answer is probably not. Brace for it,” she said. “Adding to that, hire as many women as possible. Don’t get me wrong, there were many amazing men who worked on this production, but there was something really special about having so many incredible, strong women running so much shit. From our DP, to the producers, our editor, our casting directors, most of the keys — it was fucking rad.”
