Storm Reid has joined Kathryn Newton, Dove Cameron, J. Smith Cameron and Owen Painter in Hot Year, the feature directorial debut from Roxy Sophie Sorkin. Production on the indie coming-of-age revenge thriller is scheduled to begin in Oklahoma in May.
Hot Year follows two childhood best friends whose bond is pushed to the brink after a revenge plan against an ex-boyfriend spirals into a violent incident they cannot take back. Over one feverish night, the pair must face the fallout as buried trauma, loyalty and identity collide, all against the backdrop of a small Pacific Northwest town in a relentless heatwave.
Sorkin wrote the screenplay and has spent years directing shorts that screened at Sundance, Tribeca and Beyond Fest, making this her first feature. She has described the film as an exploration of brutal honesty and boiling, seething, grotesque womanhood, and has called it both a forehead kiss and a spit in the face, a project she wished she had had at 18. Storm Reid, who earned her first Emmy for playing Riley in The Last of Us, adds another high-profile credit to a cast that already mixes rising names with experienced screen talent.
The producers include Jordan Wagner of Wagner Entertainment and Christine Vachon of Killer Films, alongside Evan Silverberg and Dylan Conklin for Entertainment 360 and Ilya Stewart for Hype Studios. Ryan Hamilton will executive produce for Wagner Entertainment, while Kathryn Newton will also executive produce. Aleksandr Fomin, Pavel Burian, Amanda Larney and George Bicknell are also on board in executive producing, co-producing or associate producing roles, and Talia Bella and Randy Wayne of Rebellium Films are handling production services in Oklahoma.
Wagner said Sorkin has a distinct and exciting voice and called the script bold, emotional and unpredictable. Vachon said the filmmaker has a real point of view and is not afraid to take risks with tone or character. With cameras set to roll in May, Hot Year is moving from a promising first script into a cast-driven debut that will have to balance its revenge plot with the messier business of friendship, identity and the damage people can do in one night.
