Author/director James SweeneyS “Twinless“Took 2025 Sundance Film Festival of storm. This murderous joy – about two young men as friends with each other in a support group for people who have lost a twin – whipped the Eccles theater in a habit with their nice dark laughs and unexpected plot twists. Sweeney’s second functionWhere he stars opposite Dylan O’Brien playing twins Rocky and Roman, also made headlines when sex scenes involved the two actors were Leaked online by social media users from Sundances virtual platform. Finally, the quirky and cutting India in theaters is this Friday and ready for its biggest audience yet.
O’Brien’s dual roles that both Flamboyant Gay Charm Bomb Rocky-That is flat in a car accident early in the movie and the sadness and the straight novel is a career tip. At the same time, the sardonic and calculates Dennis (Sweeney), who, based on a romantic meeting before the Rocky accident, has a Twink fetish, Ingratiates into Roman’s life with a master plan. “Twinless“Through team two is not the movie you thought it was, and Sweeney skillfully pulls the carpet and then strikes you over your head with it at least a couple of times.
“Twinless” is Sweeney’s second feature after the relocation of 2019 “Straight Up”, which had a release from Strand and played Sweeney as a young gay man with OCD and inclined to get panic attacks when it comes to intimacy. Out filmmaker Sweeney reveals with “Twinless” (Lionsgate and road attractions) sophisticated insight into the self -disgust and loneliness that tends to keep up with being gay 2025, or every year. The rollist also contains a note-person Aisling Franciosi (“The Nightingale”) as Dennis’s co-workers who start to suspect that he has up to something surreptitious and Lauren Graham as Rocky and Roman’s mother.
Indiewire talked to Sweeney several times – only in January at the Sundance Film Festival 2025 and then again this summer. The author/director, who is 35 and originally from Alaska, zoomed out of his home in Los Angeles, where we touched on to throw O’Brien, piracy at Sundance, Dennis’s obsession with “The Sims” and more.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Indieview: It has been more than six months since “Twinless” was launched at Sundance and then went to Tribeca. What have you been doing since then?
James Sweeney: I am also a producer on the project, so it has been a lot, frankly, with the transfer from Paramount to Lionsgate and now Sony, and makes the festival trip, which goes to many places, from Sundance in Mexico City to Provincetown and Nantucket to San Francisco. It has been really wonderful, also exhausting. I’m not someone who normally gets sick, but I got sick three times this year. I also broke my rib after receiving food poisoning.
Is Dennis a big version of yourself? You don’t seem like a demon -Twink, but writing a role you take on may have a way to work out dark impulses that you can’t express in reality.
I would not necessarily play Dennis when I wrote the script. I wrote the first draft in 2015, and my focus on that point made my first function, “Straight Up.” “Twinless” was another story that poured out, but the logistics side of my brain, because I had written this as a bigger movie, I pulled myself from myself and strived to play the role, but that was not a sure thing.
Did you feel like the scenes that leaked from Sundance were good marketing for the film?
It’s fun. I remember seeing your headline, as “filmmaker should be happy when their movie is leaked.”
I don’t even remember writing it.
I was happy to win (audience) because I didn’t expect it, but I was really surprised, and I was upset over the leak because that’s not how I want to be introduced on the internet. I try to take it in good humor, but I didn’t sleep well the night to. I had this photography just before Sundance. Always make sure your hair looks good and that you wear something (good) because these photos will live forever. I almost didn’t come to the ceremony because I didn’t sleep at all. So my turtleneck is wrinkled, my hair is decommissioned because I do not shower, and it is the photo that is now on my Wikipedia page. Why!
There is an element in all the press is a good pressure, and it is difficult for something to catch flash, so if it is sipped into people’s awareness, hopefully it will then Parlay to people who retain interest and want to see it in theaters. Our hope is that all these pervs on Twitter then pay money and support us when we are actually in theaters.
I stand by what I said, then, but I don’t want the movie to be compromised. When the clips leaked, the feeling was very thirsty. Despite the copyright issues presented.
It’s hard because I still don’t want to talk about it because it’s a spoiler. There is another scene that I know that leaked to a much lesser extent that I really hope does not make the rounds again. I want people to be surprised, but I will say, I’ve had many people to be aware of the leak, and even people like, “Oh my gosh, I’ve seen your trailer!” And I’m like, no you don’t have, the trailer is not out yet. I know what you saw, and it wasn’t the trailer. I had a Mexican newspaper that asked me about the leaks; People are aware of it. I don’t think, without context, people really understand what is happening.
Did you cuddle over how dark to make the movie? Without destroying too much, Dennis is sometimes a limit control, and novel has anger issues that are rooted in his brother’s death.
It was naturally built into the condition. It was a dark turn that I don’t really want to talk about that was really well received, and I am, ok, I guess I will compromise here … When I threw Dylan I was like, no, it was the right choice in how fucked his character is. Both characters have regrets and struggle with parts of themselves that they do not like, and that is part of why they trust each other as friends. They both feel and accepted by each other.
Can you say more about the pushbacken you have?
The most consistent feedback we would get when we hit financiers was that people did not like Dennis. I tried to expand his vulnerability as a response to that. I live in the role and direct it and have written it, I just have so much empathy – I mean, for all characters, yes – but maybe a cold reader will interpret the text differently than I thought.
How did you end up throwing Dylan O’Brien?
I didn’t see him quite as Roman. We met in 2020, so he has been linked to this project for a long time. Even physically in terms of construction, I always imagine him in my head as a little more infectious. We made a split between Rocky and Roman, so he filled himself for novel. He is also just maturity as a physical man as well as an actor. I have always been a fan of his, but it was this web series, Jordan Peele YouTube show “Weird City” that he acted in the pilot to, which he was absolutely wonderful in. And the recreation scene for “The Social Network” as he did with his friend Sarah. This guy has so much reach, and I thought he would be a very exciting casting idea. At that time, I really had no idea that he would respond to the material.
What is your relationship with “The Sims”? Dennis is often seen playing it as a way to act out his manipulative tendencies to actual people, and Dennis and novel also go to a Hollywood party as Sims.
I would lose days Playing “The Sims.” Where am I? What time is it? It has been fun to see how much of a cultural touch stone it has been, both with the audience and even to do it, and people would tell me their memories about playing “The Sims” when they were younger. It relates to being able to build the fantasy world that you want to live, which is very thematically relevant to the film. It was not the original draft of the script, but we had temporarily replaced it with another Nintendo video game that we did not get the rights to, so we revolved back to “The Sims.”
How did your collaboration develop with cinematic photographer Greg Cotton Art of script?
I would say that as a director, I am very visually prone, especially when it comes to composition and wizard a visual grammar. Making the transition from shooting 35 mm to digital was something that serves themes. The more I can create the rules really guide how I want to shoot the movie, and then I feel that it gives me freedom and flexibility to be spontaneous. We shot the first act in 35 mm, and then the rest is managed digitally with a film emulation, which is a subtle shift, hopefully the audience does not notice because it is supposed to be most impossible.
To increase the filmmakers today, photography on film is a non-negotiable, but it is expensive and difficult. Was it easy to perform?
We definitely got Pushback, even from our line producer. My cinematographer, Greg, had not shot a function on film before; Even if we got it approved by insurance, we had to validate it. “Straight Up” is managed digitally. The concern here was the cost because we had two cameras, because we examined scenes. It also became a logistical nightmare because we were hit by the second worst Portland snowstorm during our last pre -production week, so the camera arrived late, and we couldn’t do tests with the film camera. The first day we shot blind, with back-up take you digital, which was a waste of time. But anyway.
Anything you can say that you are working on next after this movie?
A (Controls with Publicist)No. I am very excited about (‘Twinless’) and really look forward to continuing to make original films.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
“Twinless” opens in theaters on Friday, September 5.
