Bleecker Street has acquired U.S. distribution rights to the psychological thriller NDA, featuring Rachel Zegler, Penn Badgley, and Amy Ryan.
The film marks the feature directorial debut of Audrey Ellis Fox, a commercial director known for work with Nike and Gatorade. Her original screenplay earned a place on the 2024 Black List and was selected for the 2023 Women in Film X Black List Feature Residency program.
NDA centers on Dana (Zegler) during a grueling day of mediation tied to an office harassment claim she submitted. As a firm deadline approaches, she begins to question the cost of her silence, her sanity, and the truth.
The project is produced by Jared Ian Goldman and Zola Elgart Glassman for Mighty Engine, Keith Calder and Jess Wu Calder for SNOOT, Caitlin Gold for Tanbark Pictures, and Daniel Ginsberg for In The Cut Productions. Executive producers include Ellis Fox, Bleecker Street’s Kent Sanderson, Tyler DiNapoli, Miranda King, and Christian Hall.
NDA is currently in production in New York City.
“This was one of the best scripts I’ve read and is exactly the kind of bold, filmmaker-driven cinema we’re passionate about championing,” said Kent Sanderson, CEO of Bleecker Street. “Audrey is a tremendous talent, and we’re honored to collaborate with her and the equally talented Rachel to bring this story to life.”
“I’m thrilled to be collaborating with Rachel, Penn, Amy, Bleecker, and the rest of this exceptional team to bring my film to screen,” said Ellis Fox. “NDA is a story about power and perception, and it’s incredibly exciting to work with partners who so fiercely believe in its vision.”
Zegler won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her breakthrough role in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. Her film credits include The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Y2K, Spellbound, Snow White, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. On stage, she recently starred in Evita at the London Palladium, earning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and will reprise the role on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre in 2027. She will next appear in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s film adaptation of Octet and the comedy-drama She Gets It from Me.
Badgley appeared in 121 episodes of Gossip Girl and portrayed Joe Goldberg in Netflix’s psychological thriller You. He will next star in the romantic comedy You Deserve Each Other with Meghann Fahy.
Ryan received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Gone Baby Gone. Her other films include Birdman, Bridge of Spies, Beautiful Boy, and Beau Is Afraid. On television, she is recognized for playing Holly Flax on The Office and roles in Only Murders in the Building, The Wire, and In Treatment. She is set to appear in Tom McCarthy’s A Statement.
Fox is represented by CAA, Writ Large, and Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein. Zegler is represented by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof + Fishman. Badgley is represented by CAA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush Kaller Gellman Meigs & Fox. Ryan is represented by Untitled Entertainment, Gersh, and Brecheen Feldman Breimer Silver Thompson.