Exploring the Light Pictures has seized global rights to Alexander Payne's next project, "Somewhere," which will play Renate Reinsve, the Cannes award Norwegian actor for Joachim Trier's "The Worst Man in the World".

The Danish film will be produced by Payne’s first European work by Birgitte Skov of the vuelta group company Scanbox Production and will be filmed in Denmark in 2026.

After 20 years of successful work on "Sideways" in the studio, "Somewhere There" will be reunited with Payne with Searchlight Pictures, which won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and became a cult movie.

“My best filmmaking experience involves searchlights,” Payne said. “It’s only a matter of time before I go back to the partnership, and I’m glad.”

Searchlight Pictures Matthew Greenfield President said: “Alexander Payne is a master of storytelling and being reunited with him is a real joy.”

Greenfield continued: “'At somewhere there' marks an exciting new chapter as Alexander made another beautiful, honest and profound fun film.”

Global deals with Searchlight do not include Nordics that will be processed by Scanbox. "This is a perfect example of how we look at local features in Scanbox Entertainment and Vuelta," said Scanbox Entertainment Boss Thor Sigurjonsson.

“With the searchlight, it’s a great opportunity to find the widest audience for a Danish language film,” Sigurjonsson said. “Matthew and Chan Phung are passionate about the project and we believe we have a great partnership with Searchlight.”

Norwegian Hummel movie Swedish Nordic drama queen and French Maneki movie co-produced "Somewhere".

The script was written by Erlend Loe and is based on Åke Sandgren's initial ideas. Reinsve will play a supporting role in "Somewhere", and this year is Trier's "sensual value."

The plot is still under wraps. "Somewhere There" will mark a follow-up to Payne's The Holdovers, which received five Oscar nominations in 2024, including Best Photos and won Best Supporting Actress for Da'vine Joy Randolph. Payne previously won the Best Director of "Descendants" in 2012.

Vuelta Group's Scanbox Entertainment is raising funds. The film is supported by Danish Film Academy and regional funds Vestdanske Filmpulje (DVF), Norwegian Film Academy (NFI) and Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR).