Sundance, Dead Man’s Wire, Theatrical

This week’s episode of Screen Talk welcomes two guests to help us make sense of the current scrambled theatrical universe: Megan Colligan and Steve Garrett, the president and head of acquisitions/distribution, respectively, behind Row K Entertainment. (That name? It comes from what’s understood by filmmakers as the best row in a movie house.)

The rising distributor launched in August 2025 ahead of the Venice Film Festival, where it acquired Gus Van Sant‘s 1970s-set hostage thriller “Dead Man’s Wire” and since has announced acquistions of films by Maude Apatow (“Poetic License”), Jaume Collet-Serra (a “Cliffhanger” remake), and Tom Dean and Mac Eldridge (TIFF breakout “Charlie Harper”).

We have known Megan for years as a marketing executive at Searchlight, Paramount Pictures, and IMAX. Garrett previously served as an SVP of distribution at IMAX after years at Paramount Pictures and as head of sales for the former Paramount Vantage.

On the episode, they discuss why they chose Gus Van Sant’s latest film as their flagship title, what opportunities they see for indie narrative movies, their commitment to theatrical-first releases, and what their plans are for the Sundance Film Festival. As we know, the acquisition markets at festivals have dwindled, making way for festivals to return to their original function: network- and relationship-building. Colligan and Garrett’s hopeful views, as you’ll hear in the podcast, are refreshing relative to the disruption and chaos wrought upon the industry in the past year. Even the past month.

Elsewhere in the episode, Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio count down the 15 new movies they’re most excited for in 2026; our criteria, for the most part, were films with guaranteed release, i.e., distribution and a date. We also look back at the week in the awards season, from the Critics Choice Awards to the New York Film Critics Circle gala.

Listen to this week’s podcast episode below or via your favorite podcast platform.