Netflix acquires Charlie McDowell’s Hitchcockian thriller Windfall

The film has been billed as a modern-day noir that chronicles the story of a young couple, played by Segel and Collins, who reach their vacation home to find that it’s being robbed. Justin Lader, who has frequently collaborated with McDowell, and Andrew Kevin Walker, the scriptwriter of Seven, Sleepy Hollow, and 8MM have penned the script for the film. With Andrew Kevin Walker being roped in for the film and the presence of Justin Lader, who is known for The One I Love, The Discovery, one can expect a crisp script.

As reported by Deadline, McDowell and Segel have also worked on the story with the writers. Segel, known for his roles in How I Met Your Mother, The Muppets, Sex Tape, Forgetting Sarah Marshal, and more, produced the film with McDowell, Collins and Jack Selby, David Duque Estrada, Elika Portnoy, and Rick Covert. Plemons, known for Breaking Bad, Fargo, and Black Mirror, is also producing the film.

Lily Collins, best known for her recent role of Emily in Emily in Paris (that is currently filming Season two) took to Instagram to share her experience after the project wrapped up, describing Windfall as an ‘out-of-the-box’ film that led on to an ‘intimate, collaborative and freeing’ process for her. She went on to praise the script by Lader and Walker, given that the story had her venture into a genre and character she has not played before. Collins is also known for projects like Mank, Les Miserables, and Mortal Instruments.

Charlie McDowell, son of the iconic Hollywood actor Malcolm McDowell, and the director of films and TV series like Silicon Valley, Legion, and Dear White People also shared his thoughts about the film on Instagram. Thanking Netflix for the collaboration, he said that he felt lucky to make a movie in his hometown Ojai during a pandemic. ‘I think we made something unique…’, he wrote.

As of now, Windfall is in post-production. The shooting for the film wrapped in March 2021.