Barry Levinson, director of Best Picture winner Rain Man (for which Levinson also won the Best Director Oscar), is producing a mystery thriller called American Sweatshop with Oz showrunner Tom Fontana, and Deadline reports that Riverdale, Look Both Ways, and Hustlers star Lili Reinhart has been cast in the lead role.
Emmy nominee Uta Briesewitz, whose previous credits include Stranger Things, The Wheel of Time, Westworld and This Is Us, is set to direct the film from a screenplay by Matthew Nemeth (City on a Hill).
In a device driven world, American Sweatshop will take a look at the toll of social media through the eyes of Daisy Moriarty (Reinhart), who while dealing with a chaotic personal life, finds herself sucked into the underbelly of the internet. Moriarty, and a motley group of coworkers, toil in a cottage industry of agencies that evaluate harmful and offensive pictures and videos uploaded to social media. With detached caution and a deranged sense of humor, they examine the millions of posts that get “flagged for review.” But one particularly violent video grabs hold of Daisy, luring her out of this office, away from the safety of her keyboard and into a dangerous world as she obsessively seeks to hold someone accountable.
Reinhart provided the following statement: “Many of us have a story to tell about an experience with the dark side of the internet— and it’s horrifying that the violence we are exposed to on a daily basis is rewiring our brains. American Sweatshop tackles this subject in an inventive and engaging way that had me hooked from page one. I’m thrilled to be working with Uta on this topical and slyly entertaining film.“
Jason Sosnoff and Anita Elsani are also producing the film, with Reinhart serving as an executive producer alongside Briesewitz, Kirk D’Amico, Matthew Nemeth, Catherine Hagedorn, and Joanna Plasky.
D’Amico had this to say: “We are very pleased to present this very original film which stars Lili Reinhart as a reviewer of social media posts which are deemed questionable, a job no one wants. Uta Briesewitz’s directorial vision will give audiences a thought-provoking look into the dark side of the internet. This is a timely and compelling story.“
How does American Sweatshop sound to you? Are you glad to see Lili Reinhart working with this creative team? Let us know by leaving a comment below.