First-Time Filmmaker Cole Webley Gets Why ‘Omaha’ Will ‘Not Be for Every Human Out There’
“Omaha” is not just the favorite audible call of Eli and Peyton Manning or the most populous city in our 37th state of Nebraska, it is also Cole Webley’s feature-film directorial debut.
Webley, previously known for his TV commercials, called Robert Machoian’s “Omaha” script “incredible.” He was specifically struck by the screenplay’s “purity,” Webley said in the IndieWire Studio, presented by Dropbox.
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“When I read the script — an incredible script by Robert Machoian — I had been developing several others that I thought would be my first movie,” Webley told our Kate Erbland. “This one hit me so clearly…the purity of this script. When you’re in this business, when a script comes along that everybody knows just needs to be made into a film, the writing’s on the wall.”
“We saw that almost immediately,” he continued, “and we pivoted and said, ‘Why are we trying to polish up [the other scripts] when this script that came to me in almost its finished state was so clear. It resonated because of the story as a father. It’s a story about dads — there’s many elements to it, but that was one that really, really grabbed a hold of me.”
Why? Well, Webley has four kids. The film’s producer Preston Lee, is also a dad, as is their “Omaha” star, John Magaro, who literally plays a character simply named “Dad.” Magaro’s onscreen co-star in our studio, Molly Belle Wright, is a kid.
“I can’t wait for everyone to meet and see Molly’s performance in this movie,” Webley said of the 11-year-old actress.
Webley also had kind words for his Ella’s (Wright) little brother in the film, Wyatt Solis (“Charlie” in the movie), who “brought a charm and comedy to the film that is very, very important” to the subject matter.
Here’s the subject matter: “After a family tragedy, siblings Ella and Charlie are woken up by their dad and taken on a cross-country journey, experiencing a new world. As their adventure unfolds, Ella begins to understand that things might not be what they seem,” the film’s logline reads.
It doesn’t exactly end like “Little Miss Sunshine,” which debuted in 2006 at Sundance.
The night before our 2025 Sundance sitdown, Webley says a man approached him and “just couldn’t stop talking about how he wanted to go home and tell his dad, who raised him and his two siblings as a solo dad, about this movie. He was so impacted by it.”
“I get that this movie will not be for every human out there, but…the thing that’s right under the surface for us is how much we love our families,” Webley continued. “And that is what is resonating.”
Watch the full interview with the “Omaha” gang above.
“Omaha,” written by Robert Machoian and directed by Cole Webley, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It is seeking U.S. distribution.
Dropbox is proud to partner with IndieWire and the Sundance Film Festival. In 2025, 68% of feature films premiering at the Sundance Film Festival used Dropbox in their film production. Dropbox helps filmmakers and creative teams find, organize, and secure all the files that are important to any project.
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