Rachel Zegler is currently filming a psychological thriller in New York called NDA, and the film just got a major boost. Bleecker Street has acquired the U.S. distribution rights, bringing the project one step closer to audiences. Penn Badgley and Amy Ryan co-star, and the film marks the feature directorial debut of Audrey Ellis Fox, whose script for the film landed on the prestigious 2024 Black List.
NDA centres on a character named Dana, played by Rachel Zegler, who files a workplace harassment claim and then faces an intense and chaotic day of mediation before a looming deadline. As the hours pass, Dana is forced to navigate complicated questions about silence, truth, and the cost of speaking up. It is a tight, pressure-cooker kind of story, one that takes place almost entirely within the confines of a single high-stakes situation. Director Audrey Ellis Fox described the film as a story about power and perception, and the script’s sharp, focused premise is exactly what earned it a spot on the Black List two years ago.
Audrey Ellis Fox is making her feature film debut with NDA. Her script for the film appeared on the 2024 Black List, which is the annual list of the most highly regarded unproduced screenplays circulating in Hollywood that year. Landing on the Black List is considered a significant stamp of approval in the industry, and it is what put the project in motion. Fox has also executive produced the film alongside the distribution team at Bleecker Street.
Before directing films, Fox’s directorial credits included commercials for major brands like Nike and Gatorade. Her script for NDA was also selected for the 2023 Women in Film x Black List Feature Residency Program, a separate recognition that came even before the script appeared on the main 2024 Black List. That combination of two distinct industry recognitions is what ultimately helped the project get off the ground.
Rachel Zegler leads the film as Dana. Penn Badgley, best known for playing Joe Goldberg in Netflix’s You and Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl, co-stars in the film. Amy Ryan, one of the most respected character actresses working today, known for her Oscar-nominated role in Gone Baby Gone and her work in Birdman and Beautiful Boy, rounds out the main cast. It is a compact but strong lineup for a film that sounds like it will rely heavily on performance and tension rather than spectacle.
Bleecker Street acquiring the U.S. rights is a meaningful step for the film. Bleecker Street is one of the more respected independent distributors in the American market, known for championing smaller, filmmaker-driven projects. CEO Kent Sanderson said in a statement that NDA was one of the best scripts he had read and described it as exactly the kind of bold cinema his company is passionate about bringing to audiences. Fox added that she is thrilled to be working with partners who so fiercely believe in the film’s vision.
The film is being produced by Jared Ian Goldman and Zola Elgart Glassman for Mighty Engine, Keith Calder and Jess Wu Calder for SNOOT, Caitlin Gold for Tanbark Pictures, and Daniel Ginsberg for In The Cut Productions. Executive producers include Fox herself, alongside Bleecker Street’s Kent Sanderson, Tyler DiNapoli, Miranda King, and Christian Hall.
Rachel Zegler has had a turbulent couple of years in the spotlight. Her lead role in Snow White drew significant public attention, not all of it positive, but she has continued to work steadily. Beyond NDA, she has two more films lined up. She is set to star in Octet, the new film from Lin-Manuel Miranda, and in a comedic drama called She Gets It From Me alongside Marisa Tomei. A psychological thriller about a woman fighting to be heard in a room full of power feels like a well-timed choice for where she is in her career right now.
Beyond films, Zegler has also been building a strong stage presence. In 2025, she played Eva Perón in the Jamie Lloyd Company’s West End production of Evita at the London Palladium, a role for which she won an Olivier Award. That same production is heading to Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre in 2027. She also made her Broadway debut in Romeo + Juliet back in 2024. She is also set to appear alongside Adrien Brody and Ben Platt in the music-driven drama Last Dance.
NDA is currently in production in New York. No release date has been confirmed yet.
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