Author/director James Sweeney‘s “Twinless” took the 2025 Sundance Movie Pageant by storm. This mordant delight — about two younger males who befriend each other in a assist group for individuals who’ve misplaced a twin — whipped the Eccles theater right into a frenzy with its cuttingly darkish laughs and sudden plot twists. Sweeney’s second function, by which he stars reverse Dylan O’Brien who performs twins Rocky and Roman, additionally made headlines when intercourse scenes involving the 2 actors had been leaked on-line by social media customers off Sundance’s digital platform. Lastly, the quirky and slicing indie is in theaters this Friday, and prepared for its largest viewers but.
O’Brien’s twin roles as each flamboyantly homosexual attraction bomb Rocky — who’s flattened in a automotive accident early within the movie — and the grieving and straight Roman comprise a career-topping efficiency. In the meantime, the sardonic and calculating Dennis (Sweeney), who, based mostly on a pre-accident romantic encounter with Rocky, appears to have a twink fetish, ingratiates himself into Roman’s life with a grasp plan. “Twinless,” by act two, is just not the film you thought it was, and Sweeney deftly pulls the rug after which whacks you over the pinnacle with it a minimum of a pair instances.
“Twinless” is Sweeney’s second function after 2019 Outfest premiere “Straight Up,” which had a launch from Strand, and starred Sweeney as a younger homosexual man with OCD and vulnerable to panic assaults in relation to intimacy. Out filmmaker Sweeney reveals with “Twinless” (Lionsgate and Roadside Sights) subtle perception into the self-loathing and loneliness that are likely to accompany being homosexual in 2025, or any 12 months. The forged additionally features a note-perfect Aisling Franciosi (“The Nightingale”) as Dennis’ coworker who begins to suspect he’s as much as one thing surreptitious, and Lauren Graham as Rocky and Roman’s mom.
IndieWire spoke with Sweeney a number of instances — first, in January on the 2025 Sundance Movie Pageant, after which once more this summer season. The author/director, who’s 35 and initially from Alaska, Zoomed out of his dwelling in Los Angeles, the place we touched upon casting O’Brien, piracy at Sundance, Dennis’ obsession with “The Sims,” and extra.
This interview has been edited for readability and size.
IndieWire: It’s been greater than six months since “Twinless” launched at Sundance, then went to Tribeca. What have you ever been as much as since then?
James Sweeney: I’m additionally a producer on the venture, so there’s been loads, frankly, with the switch from Paramount to Lionsgate and now Sony, and doing the competition tour, going to quite a lot of locations, from Sundance in Mexico Metropolis to Provincetown and Nantucket to San Francisco. It’s been actually beautiful, additionally exhausting. I’m not someone who usually will get sick, however I bought sick thrice this 12 months. I additionally fractured my rib after getting meals poisoning.
Is Dennis an outsize model of your self? You don’t seem to be a demon twink, however writing a task you your self tackle might have a manner of understanding darkish impulses you possibly can’t categorical in actuality.
I wasn’t essentially going to play Dennis once I wrote the script. I wrote the primary draft in 2015, and my focus at that time was making my first function, “Straight Up.” “Twinless” was one other story that poured out of, however the logistics aspect of my mind, as a result of I had written this as an even bigger film, I pulled from myself and aspired to play the position, however it wasn’t a certain factor.
Did you are feeling like these scenes that leaked out of Sundance had been good advertising and marketing for the film?
It’s humorous. I do bear in mind seeing your headline, like, “filmmakers needs to be completely happy when their film will get leaked.”
I don’t even bear in mind writing that.
I used to be completely happy to win the [Audience] Award as a result of I didn’t count on it, however I used to be actually stunned, and I used to be upset concerning the leak as a result of that’s not how I need to be launched to the web. I attempt to take it in good humor, however I didn’t sleep properly the night time of. I had this photograph shoot proper earlier than Sundance. At all times make certain your hair appears to be like good and that you just’re sporting one thing [good] as a result of these images are going to reside ceaselessly. I virtually didn’t make it to the ceremony as a result of I didn’t sleep in any respect. So my turtleneck is wrinkled, my hair’s raveled as a result of I didn’t bathe, and that’s the photograph that’s now on my Wikipedia web page. Why!
There’s a component of all press is nice press, and it’s laborious for something to catch lightning, so if it seeped into individuals’s consciousness, hopefully that may then parlay into individuals retaining curiosity and eager to see it in theaters. Our hope is that each one these pervs on Twitter then pay cash and assist us after we’re really in theaters.
I stand by what I stated, then, however I don’t need the film to be compromised. When the clips leaked, the sentiment was very thirsty. Regardless of the copyright points offered.
It’s laborious as a result of I nonetheless don’t need to discuss it as a result of it’s a spoiler. There’s one other scene I do know bought leaked on a a lot smaller diploma that I’m actually hoping doesn’t make the rounds once more. I would like individuals to be stunned, however I’ll say, I’ve had lots of people concentrate on the leak, and even individuals like, “Oh my gosh, I’ve seen your trailer!” And I’m like, no you haven’t, the trailer isn’t out but. I do know what you noticed, and it wasn’t the trailer. I had a Mexican newspaper asking me concerning the leaks; individuals comprehend it. I don’t suppose, out of context, individuals actually perceive what’s occurring.
Did you tussle over how darkish to make the film? With out spoiling an excessive amount of, Dennis is a borderline stalker at instances, and Roman has anger points rooted within the demise of his brother.
It was naturally constructed into the premise. There was one darkish flip that I don’t actually need to discuss that was actually not well-received, and I’m like, OK, I assume I’ll compromise right here… As soon as I forged Dylan, I used to be like, no, that was the fitting alternative in simply how fucked-up his character is. Each characters have regrets and are grappling with elements of themselves that they don’t like, and that’s a part of why they belief one another as mates. They each really feel seen and accepted by one another.
Are you able to say extra concerning the pushback you bought?
Essentially the most constant suggestions we might get after we had been pitching to financiers was that individuals didn’t like Dennis. I attempted to develop on his vulnerability as a response to that. Me inhabiting the position and directing it and having written it, I simply have a lot empathy — I imply, for all of the characters, sure — however possibly a chilly reader will interpret the textual content in a different way than I supposed.
How did you find yourself casting Dylan O’Brien?
I didn’t initially absolutely see him as Roman. We met in 2020, so he’s been hooked up to this venture for a very long time. Even bodily build-wise, I all the time think about him in my head as a little bit bit extra lithe. We did a break up shoot between Rocky and Roman, so he did fill himself out for the position of Roman. He’s additionally simply matured as a bodily human in addition to an actor. I’ve all the time been a fan of his, however it was this internet sequence, the Jordan Peele YouTube present “Bizarre Metropolis” that he acted within the pilot of, that he was completely fantastic in. And the recreation scene of “The Social Community” that he did along with his good friend Sarah. This man’s bought a lot vary, and I assumed he could be a really thrilling casting thought. On the time, I actually didn’t have any inkling he would reply to the fabric.
What’s your relationship to “The Sims”? Dennis is usually seen enjoying it as a manner of appearing out his manipulative tendencies towards precise human beings, and Dennis and Roman additionally go to a Hollywood social gathering as Sims.
I might lose days enjoying “The Sims.” The place am I? What time is it? It’s been enjoyable to see how a lot of a cultural touchstone it’s been, each with audiences and even within the making of it, and folks would inform me their recollections of enjoying “The Sims” once they had been youthful. It pertains to having the ability to construct the fantasy world that you just need to inhabit, which may be very thematically related to the movie. It wasn’t the unique draft of the script, however we’d quickly changed it with one other Nintendo online game we didn’t get the rights to, so we circled again to “The Sims.”
How did your collaboration with cinematographer Greg Cotton evolve the character of the screenplay?
I’d say I’m, as a director, very visually inclined, particularly in relation to composition and conjuring a visible grammar. Doing the shift from taking pictures on 35mm to digital was one thing that serves the themes. The extra I can create the principles actually guides how I need to shot-list the movie, after which I really feel prefer it provides me the liberty and suppleness to be spontaneous. We shot the primary act in 35mm, after which the remaining was shot digitally with a movie emulation, which is a refined shift, hopefully the viewers doesn’t discover as a result of it’s speculated to be principally imperceptible.
For growing filmmakers lately, taking pictures on movie is a non-negotiable, however it’s costly and unwieldy. Was that simple to execute?
We undoubtedly bought pushback, even from our line producer. My cinematographer, Greg, had not shot a function on movie earlier than; even getting it authorized by insurance coverage, we needed to validate it. “Straight Up” was shot digitally. The priority right here was the associated fee as a result of we had two cameras, as we had been revisiting scenes. It additionally grew to become a logistical nightmare as a result of we bought hit by the second-worst Portland snowstorm throughout our last week of pre-production, so the digital camera arrived late, and we couldn’t do exams with the movie digital camera. The primary day, we had been taking pictures blind, with back-up takes on digital, which was a waste of time. However anyway.
Something you possibly can say you’re engaged on subsequent after this film?
Um [checks with publicist], no. I’m very enthusiastic about [‘Twinless’] and am actually wanting ahead to persevering with to make authentic motion pictures.
This interview has been edited and condensed for readability and size.
“Twinless” opens in theaters Friday, September 5.
