Padraic McKinley, director of the depression-era adventure The Weight, has signed with Range Media Partners following its acquisition by Vertical after a Sundance world premiere. The film stars five-time Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke and Oscar winner Russell Crowe, and earned a 94% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes after screening at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival. The Weight is scheduled for theatrical release on September 18.
Padraic McKinley made his feature directorial debut with The Weight, written by Shelby Gaines, Matthew Chapman and Matthew Booi from a story by Booi and Leo Scherman. The film premiered at Sundance in January and later played at Berlin, generating strong critical acclaim ahead of its September 18 theatrical opening. Deadline exclusively reported the signing, which comes as McKinley transitions further into directing and producing after a long career as an editor on 19 feature films and over 200 television episodes. McKinley first drew attention as co-executive producer and director of four episodes, including the finale, on DirecTV's Kingdom. He executive produced season 2 of Starz's American Gods and Showtime's Golden Globe-winning limited series The Loudest Voice, which starred Russell Crowe. He also served as executive producer on Showtime's The Good Lord Bird, starring Ethan Hawke, which won a Peabody Award. Additional credits include directing and editing Netflix's documentary series Fightworld, producing director and co-executive producer on NBC's Debris, consulting producer on the Russell Crowe thriller Poker Face and The Sticky for Amazon, and executive producer on Showtime's Ghosts of Beirut. McKinley continues representation with Innovative Artists and Jackoway Austen.
