Vertical Acquires Michael Angarano’s Tribeca-Bound Road Trip Comedy ‘Sacramento’:

EXCLUSIVE: Ahead of its June 8 world premiere at the Tribeca Festival, the road trip buddy comedy Sacramento, directed by and starring Michael Angarano (Oppenheimer), has been acquired by Vertical for distribution in North America, the UK and Ireland later this year.

In addition to Angarano, the starry indie’s cast includes Michael Cera (Barbie), Kristen Stewart (Love Lies Bleeding), and Maya Erskine (Prime Video’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith). The film tells the story of Rickey (Angarano), an energetic and free-spirited young man with a Peter Pan complex who, following the death of his father, convinces his long-time friend Glenn (Cera) to hit pause on his blissful domestic life and embark on an impromptu road trip across California.

Angarano penned the screenplay with Chris Smith, and they produced the film alongside Bee-Hive Productions’ Stephen Braun, the Wonder Company’s Chris Abernathy and Eric B. Fleischman, and Sam Grey. Irfan Siddiqui served as associate producer.

In a statement on the acquisition, Angarano told Deadline, “Sacramento was a movie-making experience that was truly one of a kind. Each and every crew member believed in the movie we were making and had fun while doing it, which is all you could ever hope for as a filmmaker. It’s also a very personal film for me which is why I’m grateful to have a home like Vertical.”

Angarano noted that Vertical has established itself as “one of the great independent film distributors” and is “constantly demonstrating their willingness to champion movies like ours. We feel like we have found the perfect partner to continue this movie’s journey.”

Stated Vertical Partner Peter Jarowey, “It’s hard to imagine when Michael found time to sleep, but his incredible talent has produced a hilarious and poignant film that we can’t wait to share with audiences later this year. We’re also thrilled to continue our collaboration with Eric, Stephen, and Chris on this project and look forward to many more successful ventures together.”

Jarowey and SVP of Acquisitions Tony Piantedosi negotiated the deal on behalf of Vertical, with Verve Ventures and UTA’s Independent Film Group repping the production.

View this article at Deadline.