Late Fame

Late Fame
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kent Jones
Screenplay by	Samy Burch
Based on	Late Fame by Arthur Schnitzler
Produced by	Pamela Koffler Christine Vachon Mason Plotts Danny Roberts H.S. Naji Jackie Langelier Ethan Lazar Taylor Shung
Starring	Willem Dafoe Greta Lee Edmund Donovan
Cinematography	Wyatt Garfield
Edited by	Mike Selemon
Music by	Don Fleming
Production companies	Killer Films Fresh Fish Films Morning Moon Productions Working Barn Productions Pine Bay Pictures Spark Features In Bloom AmorFortuna
Distributed by	Magnolia Pictures
Release dates	August 30, 2025 (2025-08-30) (Venice) August 7, 2026 (2026-08-07) (United States)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$231,931

Late Fame is a 2025 American drama film directed by Kent Jones, written by Samy Burch and based on the posthumously published novella by Arthur Schnitzler. It stars Willem Dafoe, Greta Lee and Edmund Donovan.

The film had its world premiere in the Orizzonti section of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 30, 2025. It was released on August 7, 2026, by Magnolia Pictures.

Plot

Ed Saxberger, a post office worker, lives in obscurity in downtown Manhattan where he has resided since moving from Pennsylvania to join the bohemian art scene fifty years ago. Ed's life consists of work and playing pool at a nearby bar with working class friends around his age. He avoids calls from his sister, listening instead to her voicemails as she chronicles their brother's medical decline and pleads with Ed to visit him.

One day Ed is approached by Meyers, a wealthy and pretentious NYU grad who has become a fervent admirer of Ed since coming across Way Past Go, a book of poems Ed published in the late 1970s. Meyers shared Way Past Go with "The Enthusiasm Society", a group of wealthy young writers that Meyers ostensibly leads. Meyers tells Ed that the Enthusiasm Society have all become massive fans of his work. Flattered and curious, Ed accepts Meyers' invitation to meet them.

Introduced as "Saxberger", Ed is quickly enamored by the attention he receives from the group, especially the flirtatious actress Gloria. The group plans to host a reading and at Meyers' urging Ed agrees to compose an original poem, to be read by Gloria, as the featured performance. Meyers uses his connections to put Ed in contact with a literary agent as a "rediscovery" but Ed loses his enthusiasm when he learns the meeting was for a memoir and not to republish his previous work.

Ed struggles with writer's block and continues to ignore his sister's phone calls. Ed gifts Arnold, one of his working class friends, a copy of Way Past Go for his birthday. But when Arnold and the other bar patrons gently mock Ed's past as a Bohemian poet, Ed insults them and leaves. Ed spends more time with the Enthusiasm Society. Gloria arrives at his apartment unannounced wanting to see where he writes and pretends to be Ed's lover when Arnold visits to apologize for how he reacted to Ed's gift. After Gloria leaves, Ed denies Arnold's request to attend the reading. Ed later meets Gloria outside, and they take mushrooms and walk around SoHo. They kiss at a park before she takes him to a bar where she performs as a flapper era singer to a group of admiring men around Ed's age.

The day before the reading Ed confesses to the Enthusiasm Society he hasn't written a single word of his new poem. Angry and panicked, the group decides that one of Ed's previous poems will be performed instead. Ed visits Gloria unannounced and overcomes her protests to visit her upstairs. A hesitant and nervous Gloria, without makeup and no longer adopting her actress persona, begs Ed to leave. A grumpy man arrives and enters the apartment. Gloria insists Ed is just a friend and she and the man have a tense argument out of Ed's hearing. Gloria insists Ed must leave but he protests that he's worried for her safety. Ed leaves after giving Gloria a copy of Way Past Go to read from the next day.

At the reading, the Enthusiasm Society and Ed are in a panic when Gloria is not there. Gloria arrives in a dramatic new persona as a glamorous, fainting, and drug addled actress where she is doted upon by the group. Despite her persona, Gloria dramatically performs an original monologue written by one of the society members to wide applause by the crowd. At the end of the reading when the time to read Ed's work arrives, Gloria, possibly feigning, is passed out on the couch. With no other choice Ed is forced to read his own work to the crowd. He reads a long poem that reflects on his experience when he first moved to NYC and an unrequited love that mimics his experience over the past few weeks. The poem is extremely well received and the society crowns Ed with laurels. After the reading, Gloria asks Ed to inform the boys she has accepted a role in The Winter's Tale at a reputable theatre in Minneapolis and will be leaving. At his home, Ed listens to a voicemail from his sister who reveals his brother has died.

Later, the Enthusiasm Society read reviews that are largely negative except for Gloria and Ed's contributions. The group erupts in argument and dissolves after they learn Meyers used his influence to place reviews and even wrote one himself in which he had nothing positive to say. Ed leaves but is followed by the group's youngest member, Winn. Winn asks Ed to review his work and tell him if it's any good. Ed tells Winn he shouldn't hang his self-worth on other people but Winn is insistent Ed's fame and influence means his opinion matters. Winn then reveals he never read Way Past Go, nor did any other member of the Enthusiasm Society except Meyers. The group took Meyers' insistence of Ed's fame and influence at face value. Ed tells Winn he will read Winn's work when Winn reads his and heads into the bar to play pool.

Cast

• Willem Dafoe as Ed Saxberger
• Greta Lee as Gloria
• Edmund Donovan as Meyers
• Clay Singer as Brussard
• Luca Padovan as Winn
• Graham Campbell as Sherfey
• Arthur Langlie as Carmichael
• Jake Lacy as Literary Agent
• Tony Torn as Paulie
• Clark Johnson as Arnold

Production

In May 2024, Variety reported that Late Fame, starring Willem Dafoe and Sandra Hüller, was expected to begin filming in New York City that fall with a screenplay penned by Samy Burch. The report noted that Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon of Killer Films had signed on as producers and that the project would seek distributors at Cannes Film Festival. Martin Scorsese served as an executive producer.

In October 2024, Greta Lee replaced Hüller, who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. In January 2025, it was reported Edmund Donovan had joined the cast, with principal photography beginning the week of January 22, 2025, in New York and New Jersey.

Release

The film had its world premiere in the Orizzonti section of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 30, 2025. Its North American premiere took place on September 28, 2025 at the 2025 New York Film Festival. It also screened at the 63rd Viennale where it was awarded the Der Standard Reader Jury Viennale Award.

In December 2025, Magnolia Pictures acquired the distribution rights to the film. The film was released in the United States on August 7, 2026.

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 71 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website’s consensus reads: "A gentle rumination on art and authenticity, Late Fame's wistful narrative is made lively by Willem Dafoe and Greta Lee's wonderfully complementary performances." In the Wall Street Journal, Kyle Smith called the film "like a wonderful little poem. It’s also a touching nod to the past, gracefully intertwining aspects of 'Metropolitan' and 'Dead Poets Society.'"

External links

• Late Fame at IMDb