EXCLUSIVE: Music Box Films has picked up North American distribution rights to By Design, writer-director Amanda Kramer’s surreal body-swap comedy that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
By Design stars Oscar nominee Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers) in a dual performance as both a woman and the chair that she loves too much. Emmy-nominated Mamoudou Athie (Kinds of Kindness) plays opposite Lewis as Olivier, the chair’s new owner. They are joined by Samantha Mathis (American Psycho), Robin Tunney (Empire Records), Alisa Torres, Clifton Collins Jr. (Jockey), Udo Kier (Swan Song), Betty Buckley, and narrator Melanie Griffith (Cecil B. Demented).
Music Box Films is lining up an early 2026 release in theaters and home entertainment.
The synopsis reads: “Camille (Juliette Lewis), a woman who’s never been particularly jealous of other women, stumbles upon a gorgeous chair in a showroom, and realizes that she truly envies the life of a perfect piece of furniture. Camille and this chair exchange forms–and everyone likes her better as a chair.”
Pic is produced by Sarah Winshall for Smudge Films, Miranda Bailey and Natalie Whalen for Cold Iron Pictures, Jacob Agger, and Amanda Kramer. Executive producers include Madison McKinley, James Belfer, Karen Belfer, Jason Beck, Lauren Mann, Riccardo Maddalosso, Topher Lin, Alex Bach, Kyra Rogers, and Todd Remis.
The deal for the film was negotiated by Brian Andreotti on behalf of Music Box Films and Jessica Lacy at Range Select on behalf of the filmmakers.
This marks Music Box Films’ second collaboration with Kramer, having released the hyper-stylized Please Baby Please in 2022, starring Andrea Riseborourgh, Harry Melling, Cole Escola, and Demi Moore.
Amanda Kramer said: “Music Box is that rare distributor who seeks out gems, not trends. I’m elated that By Design will wear their logo. What a fortune it is to work with them on another film, to be a deep cut in a cult catalogue that lives outside of crushing pop presentism.”
Music Box said: “As a distributor, we see a lot of formulaic, shapeless movies coming across the transom, generic cash-ins that feel like they’re trying to trick you if you stumble across them as a little square on a streaming service and mistake them for something else. Nobody would ever mistake By Design for anything else–Amanda makes one-of-a-kind movies that are bold, playful, and deep. When we released Please Baby Please, Amanda heralded the return of Demi Moore. Just wait and in two years, every movie is going to be ripping off Amanda and casting chairs as a stunt.”