Paramount Wins Auction for Timothée Chalamet’s Motocross Heist Movie ‘High Side’

Paramount has officially won an auction for a major Timothée Chalamet movie. A two-time Oscar nominee, Chalamet is one of the biggest names in acting right now, and certainly one of the most important stars of his generation. He has a busy slate coming up with Marty Supreme this year and Dune: Part Three slated for next year.

As for Paramount, the company has also been going through some recent changes. Paramount recently merged with Skydance, taking control of its projects. Just this week, on August 7, this meant that the now-merged company would be run by new CEO David Ellison, after previously being run by three co-CEOs.

Right after this change, Variety confirms that Paramount has won their bid for an upcoming Chalamet movie. They will distribute High Side, which is a Motorcross heist movie. According to the synopsis, Chalamet will lead the cast as a former Motorcross racer who faces an accident, only to be drawn back to the sport by his estranged brother.

The film is set to be directed by James Mangold. It is based on an original story by Jaimie Oliveira, who will also write the script. It will be produced by Chernin Entertainment. Paramount Pictures co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg chimed in to support the film, saying the following:

“We’re thrilled to be in business with visionary artists like James and Timothée, and exceptional collaborators like Peter and David at Chernin. What Jaime has created reflects the kind of bold, original storytelling we’re committed to championing at Paramount – and we couldn’t be more excited to hit the ground running with ‘High Side.’”

What This Means For High Side

High Side represents a continued collaboration of several major groups. Mangold and Chalamet worked together just last year on the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. As Chalamet still rises in his career, this could create an interesting ongoing relationship with a creative and vital modern director.

Mangold is also experienced working with the film’s producer, Chernin Entertainment. He has previously teamed up with them for The Greatest Showman and Ford v. Ferrari. Paramount is also clearly excited about their producer-distributor work with Chernin, making for a series of good pairings.

Several of these pairings have led to well-received films. Both Ford v. Ferrari and A Complete Unknown landed several Oscar nominations, with Chalamet getting a Best Actor nod for the latter. As such, this could be a positive sign for High Side, which could have some significant pull among critics.

Our Take On The High Side News

Close-up of Timothée Chalamet looking into the distance as Paul Atreides in Dune Part Two

I’m interested in how High Side will see this actor and director step a bit outside their comfort zone. One does not really associate Chalamet with a heist film, nor do they with Mangold for that matter. As such, it will be interesting to see this fantastic actor-director combo work with material that is a bit different from what they normally do.