Author/director James Sweeney‘s “Twinless” took the 2025 Sundance Movie Competition by storm. This mordant delight — about two younger males who befriend each other in a help group for individuals who’ve misplaced a twin — whipped the Eccles theater right into a frenzy with its cuttingly darkish laughs and surprising plot twists. Sweeney’s second characteristic, during 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 reducing indie is in theaters this Friday, and prepared for its largest viewers but.
O’Brien’s twin roles as each flamboyantly homosexual allure bomb Rocky — who’s flattened in a automobile 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, just isn’t the film you thought it was, and Sweeney deftly pulls the rug after which whacks you over the top with it a minimum of a pair instances.
“Twinless” is Sweeney’s second characteristic after 2019 Outfest premiere “Straight Up,” which had a launch from Strand, and starred Sweeney as a younger homosexual man with OCD and liable to panic assaults relating to intimacy. Out filmmaker Sweeney reveals with “Twinless” (Lionsgate and Roadside Sights) subtle perception into the self-loathing and loneliness that are inclined 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 Competition, 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 undertaking, so there’s been so much, frankly, with the switch from Paramount to Lionsgate and now Sony, and doing the pageant tour, going to numerous locations, from Sundance in Mexico Metropolis to Provincetown and Nantucket to San Francisco. It’s been actually pretty, additionally exhausting. I’m not anyone who usually will get sick, however I acquired 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 look like a demon twink, however writing a job you your self tackle may have a means of figuring out darkish impulses you may’t specific 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 characteristic, “Straight Up.” “Twinless” was one other story that poured out of, however the logistics facet 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 function, nevertheless it wasn’t a positive factor.
Did you’re 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 glad when their film will get leaked.”
I don’t even bear in mind writing that.
I used to be glad to win the [Audience] Award as a result of I didn’t anticipate 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 wish to be launched to the web. I attempt to take it in good humor, however I didn’t sleep effectively the night time of. I had this photograph shoot proper earlier than Sundance. At all times ensure that your hair appears good and that you just’re sporting one thing [good] as a result of these pictures are going to stay endlessly. 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 sweet press, and it’s onerous for something to catch lightning, so if it seeped into individuals’s consciousness, hopefully that can 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 help us once we’re truly 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 onerous as a result of I nonetheless don’t wish to discuss it as a result of it’s a spoiler. There’s one other scene I do know acquired 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 pay attention to 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 assume, out of context, individuals actually perceive what’s taking place.
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 dying of his brother.
It was naturally constructed into the premise. There was one darkish flip that I don’t actually wish 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 precise selection in simply how fucked-up his character is. Each characters have regrets and are grappling with components 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 once we had been pitching to financiers was that individuals didn’t like Dennis. I attempted to broaden on his vulnerability as a response to that. Me inhabiting the function 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 totally see him as Roman. We met in 2020, so he’s been hooked up to this undertaking for a very long time. Even bodily build-wise, I all the time think about him in my head as just a little bit extra lithe. We did a cut up shoot between Rocky and Roman, so he did fill himself out for the function 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, nevertheless it was this internet collection, the Jordan Peele YouTube present “Bizarre Metropolis” that he acted within the pilot of, that he was completely great in. And the recreation scene of “The Social Community” that he did along with his pal Sarah. This man’s acquired a lot vary, and I assumed he can 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 commonly seen enjoying it as a means of appearing out his manipulative tendencies towards precise human beings, and Dennis and Roman additionally go to a Hollywood occasion 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 reminiscences of enjoying “The Sims” once they had been youthful. It pertains to with the ability to construct the fantasy world that you just wish to inhabit, which could 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 relating to composition and conjuring a visible grammar. Doing the shift from capturing on 35mm to digital was one thing that serves the themes. The extra I can create the principles actually guides how I wish to shot-list the movie, after which I really feel prefer it provides me the liberty and adaptability to be spontaneous. We shot the primary act in 35mm, after which the remaining was shot digitally with a movie emulation, which is a delicate shift, hopefully the viewers doesn’t discover as a result of it’s presupposed to be principally imperceptible.
For rising filmmakers nowadays, capturing on movie is a non-negotiable, nevertheless it’s costly and unwieldy. Was that straightforward to execute?
We positively acquired pushback, even from our line producer. My cinematographer, Greg, had not shot a characteristic on movie earlier than; even getting it permitted by insurance coverage, we needed to validate it. “Straight Up” was shot digitally. The priority right here was the fee as a result of we had two cameras, as we had been revisiting scenes. It additionally turned a logistical nightmare as a result of we acquired hit by the second-worst Portland snowstorm throughout our ultimate 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 capturing blind, with back-up takes on digital, which was a waste of time. However anyway.
Something you may 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 unique films.
This interview has been edited and condensed for readability and size.
“Twinless” opens in theaters Friday, September 5.