Festival Predictions

2022 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Jason Orley’s I Want You Back

Published on November 23, 2021

Jason Orley‘s Big Time Adolescence (I want to say is among the first legit Pete Davidson roles in film) premiered to 2019 Sundance Film Festival audiences and it would appear that this calling card directorial debut would have been parlayed for a sophomore gig written by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. An Amazon Studios project, production on I Want You Back began in February of 2021 with an ensemble comprised of Jenny Slate, Charlie Day, Manny Jacinto, Gina Rodriguez and Scott Eastwood. The rom comedy has been dated with a February 11th release date next year, so a world premiere showing just beforehand would give this 30-somethings punching back at cupid a legit boost.

Gist: This is about two souls who thought they were on the precipice of life’s biggest moments – marriage, kids, and houses in the suburbs — until their respective partners dumped them. In their thirties and terrified that they have missed their shot at happily ever after, Emma and Peter are further horrified to learn that their partners have already moved on.

Production Co./Producers: The Safran Company’s Peter Safran and John Rickard, The Walk-Up Company’s Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger.

Prediction: PREMIERES.

U.S. Distributor: Amazon Studios.

Eric Lavallée

Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's This Teacher (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022 he served as a New Flesh Comp for Best First Feature at the 2022 Fantasia Intl. Film Festival. Current top films for 2022 include Tár (Todd Field), All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells).