Principal photography has wrapped on Killing Time, a psychological home-invasion thriller that has already locked its North American release before international buyers gather. Quiver Distribution will release the film in North America in 2027, and The Exchange is taking international sales to the upcoming American Film Market.
The cast includes Freddie Prinze Jr., Shelley Hennig, Sasha Pieterse, William Moseley, Michael Evans Behling and Michael Sirow. Joshua Friedman directs from a screenplay by Ward Anderson and Marc Morgenstern. The premise reimagines the psychological pressure of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as a home-invasion thriller: a couple on the run after a bank robbery and murder spree takes shelter with an affluent married couple, and the hosts’ own secrets quickly blur the line between predator and prey.
A package built on a previous win
Quiver’s Larry Greenberg said the project had been in development for five years and moved forward on the energy of Prinze’s earlier work with the company. Prinze starred in The Girl in the Pool, which Greenberg called a 2024 surprise hit for Quiver.
That matters more than the logline. A distributor’s existing relationship with a lead actor gives the title a recent performance reference before it has a festival track record. When domestic distribution is already set, international buyers are negotiating for remaining territories rather than carrying the film’s entire risk.
What the package has going for it
- Domestic distribution already set with Quiver for 2027.
- International sales led by The Exchange at AFM.
- A lead actor with a recent Quiver film that performed as a surprise hit.
What the early domestic lock signals
For media planners and entertainment marketers, this is a reminder that packaging familiar elements—a known genre, a cast with direct-to-genre recognition, and a title that echoes a classic play—can make a project easier to sell before all creative materials are complete. The hook is not the twist; it is the combination of proven talent and a domestic distributor already attached.
A final credit and a tribute
Killing Time is the final production from producer Linda Duncombe, who died last month. Greenberg said the film is a tribute to her work and dedication. Friedman said the cast brought “charm, menace, and the ability to turn on a dime,” and added that Duncombe believed in the film from the start and fought to get it made.
Why buyers will watch AFM
For sales agents and platform buyers, the structure is the signal. A title arriving at AFM with a domestic anchor and a star-director relationship from a recent modest win can move faster than a title that is still looking for its first territory. The open question is whether The Exchange closes key markets early or uses the locked domestic deal as leverage to hold for better terms.
Source: Deadline
