Department M, the company formed a couple years ago by Mike Larocca and Michael Schaefer with multiple private investors, including backers from Qatar, is in talks to take a significant stake in Anora distributor and Palme d’Or whisperer Neon.
The deal, which will be highly lucrative, has been the talk of the high-end distribution scene this past week and was bubbling up at the European Film Market in Berlin.
Neon and Department M were both in Qatar late last year where The Qatar Film Committee announced partnerships with both companies: the former for a significant slate deal, the latter a deal for a movie biopic. The connective tissue between the two companies and the Gulf state was set and had some wondering whether it was the precursor to a bigger deal.
Neon boss Tom Quinn himself told Deadline last fall “we’re all for sale” and noted the company gets “a ton of incoming”. It has been down the road with potential suitors in the past, including Indian Paintbrush backer Steven Rales. But this feels more tangible.
Quinn also said last fall how much he loves running the company, and we understand any new iteration of Neon will include him at the helm. That’s the word on the street, at least. Let’s see if a deal sets.
Should a deal make this would instantly create a significant new mini studio in Hollywood; one with savvy producers with a track record, an international sales arm, a tried and trusted distributor with a library full of recent indie hits and awards winners, and owners with deep pockets. Just how deep will be of interest to many. Qatar isn’t short of a dollar as we know.
Another big question is what it means for Neon’s existing principal backer, billionaire 30West owner Dan Friedkin. Tongues have been wagging that the Department M deal for a large stake in Neon could be, at least to an extent, in place of 30West, which itself could undergo changes, potentially at the leadership level, and potentially with new investors in the mix. It has been noted to us that Friedkin has been less visible around Hollywood of late and that the company hasn’t taken the same swings it did some years ago. That situation is also in flux.
The existing conversation as we understand it, though, isn’t for Department M to take all of Neon. There are various partners with stakes in Neon at the moment and at least some of those are expected to remain with some level of stake should the Dep M deal go through.
Neon has been on a roll for at least six years, following a string of box office breakouts such as Longlegs and Best Picture winner Parasite, and 2025/6 awards darlings such as Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner It Was Just An Accident, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, and Ugo Bienvenu’s Arco. Anora last year captured the company’s second Academy Award for Best Picture. It has also released a record six consecutive Cannes Palme d’Or winners from 2019 to 2025.
Word around town was that Warner Bros was in talks to buy Neon. However, it’s our understanding that talks broke down and what resulted was Burbank, CA lot gaining a trio of key Neon executives when Christian Parkes, Jason Wald and Spencer Collantes joined Warner Bros to launch the studio’s new ‘indie’ film label.
Film and TV producer Department M was launched in 2024 by AGBO vet Mike Larocca and New Regency’s Michael Schaefer. They were behind the remake of the 1992 thriller The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, which streamed on Hulu last year. Pic was directed by Mexican writer-director Michelle Garza Cervera and starred Maika Monroe and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Department M has the upcoming Cary Joji Fukunaga Jo Nesbø adaptation Blood On Snow, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Eva Green and Ben Mendelsohn.
We’ve reached out to Neon, Department M and 30West but none were available for comment.
Our sister publication Variety was first out the gate with the Department M talks, which we’d both been chasing.
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