A24 Acquires U.S. Rights to Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Queer’ Starring Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey

A24 has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Luca Guadagnino’s Queer—starring Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey—ahead of its Venice Film Festival premiere. Set in 1940s Mexico City, the film follows an outcast American expat (Craig) who becomes infatuated with a younger man (Starkey).

‘Queer’ will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 3, 2024, and will also screen at the 2024 New York Film Festival as its Spotlight Gala on October 6. See the first-look image below.

In a joint statement, Craig and Guadagnino said, “‘Queer’ is a labor of love, and we could not be more excited that our film has found a home with a studio as daring, vital, and trail-blazing as A24.” They added, “It is our deep honor to finally bring Burroughs’ legendary novel to life on screen for the first time, and we feel immense gratitude and excitement to be able to present it alongside our treasured collaborators. We could not ask for better partners on this journey.”

Directed by Guadagnino—from a screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes—Queer is based on the 1985 novel by William S. Burroughs.

Set in 1950s Mexico City, ‘Queer’ follows William Lee (Craig), an American expat in his late 40s, as he leads a solitary life amidst a small American community. However, the arrival in town of Eugene Allerton (Starkey), a young student, stirs William into finally establishing a meaningful connection with someone.

‘Queer’ will have a runtime of 2 hours and 30 minutes. According to Guadagnino, the film features several “quite scandalous” sex scenes.

The cast of ‘Queer’ includes Craig as William Lee, Starkey as Eugene Allerton, Jason Schwartzman as Frank Cochran, Lesley Manville as Alice Cochran, Henry Zaga as Winston Moor, Drew Droege as John Dume, Ariel Schulman as Tom Weston, Colin Bates as Tom Williams, Ronia Ava as Joan, Perla Ambrosini as Lee’s Mother, and Simon Rizzoni as the Bartender. The film will also feature Omar Apollo, Michaël Borremans, Andra Ursuța, David Lowery, Lisandro Alonso, Ford Leland, Sean Cubito, Diego Benzoni, Radu Murarasu, and Francesco Lupo Sturani in roles yet to be announced.

Produced by Fremantle, Fremantle North America, Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment (a Fremantle Group Company), and Luca Guadagnino for his Frenesy Film Company, in collaboration with Cinecittà and Frame by Frame. The film was financed by the Fremantle Group.

Fremantle’s Andrea Scrosati said, “We are thrilled that ‘Queer,’ a true milestone in filmmaking and storytelling, will get its U.S. release from A24.” Scrosati said, “A24 is the perfect partner for Luca Guadagnino’s beautiful and tender film, and we are all looking forward to working with their brilliant team again.”