Lili Reinhart To Lead Social Media Thriller ‘American Sweatshop’ About “Dark Side Of The Internet”; Barry Levinson & Tom Fontana Among Producers — Cannes Market Hot Project

Andreas Wiseman and Zac Ntim
·2 min read

EXCLUSIVE: Riverdale and Hustlers star Lili Reinhart is set to lead mystery thriller American Sweatshop, whose producers include Oscar winner Barry Levinson (Rain Man) and acclaimed American showrunner Tom Fontana (Oz) who will be producing his first feature.

Myriad Pictures will be launching international sales in Cannes after sealing a deal with Baltimore Pictures and Germany-based Elsani & Neary. UTA Independent Film Group is handling North American sales.

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In a device driven world, American Sweatshop will take a look at the toll of social media through the eyes of Daisy Moriarty (Reinhart), who while dealing with a chaotic personal life, finds herself sucked into the underbelly of the internet. Moriarty, and a motley group of coworkers, toil in a cottage industry of agencies that evaluate harmful and offensive pictures and videos uploaded to social media. With detached caution and a deranged sense of humor, they examine the millions of posts that get “flagged for review.” But one particularly violent video grabs hold of Daisy, luring her out of this office, away from the safety of her keyboard and into a dangerous world as she obsessively seeks to hold someone accountable.

Emmy nominee Uta Briesewitz, whose credits include Stranger Things, The Wheel Of Time, Westworld and This Is Us, will direct. Producers are Jason Sosnoff (The Survivor), Levinson, Fontana (who is coming off AMC’s Monsieur Spade), and Anita Elsani (55 Steps).

Matthew Nemeth (City On A Hill) wrote the screenplay. Kirk D’Amico, Uta Briesewitz, Matthew Nemeth, Lili Reinhart, Catherine Hagedorn, and Joanna Plasky will serve as executive producers.

Pic is supported by the German regional fund Film und Medienstiftung NRW and is slated to begin production in Cologne, Germany this summer.

“Many of us have a story to tell about an experience with the dark side of the internet— and it’s horrifying that the violence we are exposed to on a daily basis is rewiring our brains,” said Lili Reinhart, “American Sweatshop tackles this subject in an inventive and engaging way that had me hooked from page one. I’m thrilled to be working with Uta on this topical and slyly entertaining film.”

Kirk D’Amico added: “We are very pleased to present this very original film which stars Lili Reinhart as a reviewer of social media posts which are deemed questionable, a job no one wants. Uta Briesewitz’s directorial vision will give audiences a thought-provoking look into the dark side of the internet. This is a timely and compelling story.”

Reinhart recently wrapped starring in and producing the independent limited series Hal & Harper opposite Mark Ruffalo. Last year, she executive-produced and starred in the Netflix feature Look Both Ways. Briesewitz’s credits as a DoP include The Wire and Hung.

Reinhart is repped by Anonymous Content, UTA, and Peikoff Mahan Law Office. Briesewitz is repped by UTA.

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