A little over two years since its debut at SXSW, the first trailer for the star-studded Americana is finally here courtesy of Lionsgate. The feature
A little over two years since its debut at SXSW, the first trailer for the star-studded Americana is finally here courtesy of Lionsgate. The feature directorial debut of Tony Tost brings Grammy-nominated pop star Halsey to the huge screen for the first time in a violent South Dakota spin on a heist thriller centered around a highly coveted Native American artifact. When said artifact falls onto the black market, outsiders and outcasts, including a small-town woman and her son, a quirky waitress, and a military veteran, collide in a desperate dash to claim it for their own ambitions. The first footage follows Halsey’s character Mandy Starr on a “murder spree” as they snatch the treasure for themselves and immediately place a target on their back.
Before ever meeting the long-suffering Starr, viewers are first introduced to the lonesome cowboy Lefty Ledbetter and hopeful Nashville star Penny Jo Poplin, played by Paul Walter Hauser and Sydney Sweeney, respectively. Penny opens up about her dreams of becoming a country star and pitches the idea of stealing a valuable Lakota Ghost Shirt from an obnoxious collector. There’s a man in town (Simon Rex) willing to pay top dollar for someone to “liberate it” for him, a fortune that could be used to kickstart Penny’s singing career. While Dillon MacIntosh (Eric Dane) and his team bust in and take it, everyone sees it as an opportunity to get affluent quickly and gives chase. Mandy reaches him first and steals the shirt, sending them on a path that intersects with armed thugs, Penny and Lefty, the Lakota Native American Ghost Eye (Zahn McClarnon), and a kid claiming to be the reincarnation of Sitting Bull. The film strikes a darkly comedic, gritty tone as Mandy fights to secure the fortune.
Tost took up both writing and directing duties for Americana with Alex Saks producing. Before his first film, he got plenty of experience capturing western vibes by creating the USA Network series Damnation starring Logan Marshall-Green and Killian Scott, and writing several episodes for the western hit Longmire. More recently, however, his work can be seen in the second season of the Natasha Lyonne howcatchem series, Poker Face, where he penned the fifth episode.
‘Americana’ Won Over Critics Back in 2023
A lack of experience behind the camera didn’t stop Tost from delivering a mighty dramedy in the eyes of critics. Although it’s a petite sample size, his first film earned a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes following its SXSW debut, with high praise for the starry cast and heartfelt story of desperate characters giving into their greed and ambition. The leading role marks a huge step-up for Halsey, whose last huge screen foray came last year with the Ti West horror trilogy capper MaXXXine, yet it’s primed to continue her run of success in theaters so far with facilitate from her superstar co-stars. BRON Studios and Saks Pictures Company co-produced the project in association with Rhea Films and Hercules Film Fund/Creative Wealth Media.
Americana premieres in theaters on August 22. Check out the trailer in the player above.
Americana
Release Date
August 22, 2025
Runtime
110 minutes
Director
Tony Tost
Writers
Tony Tost
Producers
Aaron L. Gilbert, Michael R. Williams, Terry Dougas, Ali Jazayeri, Jason Cloth, Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, Steven Thibault, Alex Saks, David Gendron, Jean-Luc De Fanti, Suraj Maraboyina, Bavand Karim
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