EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off acclaimed runs in Little Shop of Horrors, and Tony Award-winning shows Moulin Rouge and Hadestown on Broadway, Jordan Fisher is set to star in and produce I Won’t Dance, a YA sports rom-com marking the feature directorial debut of Christine Lakin, which we scooped last November.
The winner of Dancing With the Stars‘ 25th season, alongside dancing partner Lindsay Arnold, Fisher brings personal experience to the film set in the world of competitive ballroom, which stems from a script by veteran ballroom dancer Allison Johnson. It’s described, in the vein of Crave/HBO Max breakout Heated Rivalry, as the enemies-to-lovers story of Xavier and Alaina, two ballroom rivals who have spent their entire lives trying to outshine each other. When their partners walk out weeks before the National Rising Star Championship, they are left with a single option: win together, or lose everything they’ve worked for separately. What begins as an alliance of necessity becomes something neither of them planned for.
Fisher will play Xavier, the sexy bad boy of the ballroom.
EXCLUSIVE: Christine Lakin will make her feature directorial debut with I Won’t Dance, a mid-market coming-of-age romantic comedy and sports film now in active packaging and financing ahead of AFM, where the producing team will introduce the project to potential sales and distribution partners.
Lakin added that “I Won’t Dance is not just a film about dance, it’s a film about family and tradition and expectation — both from oneself and those around us. The characters in this film remind us what it is to be young and on the precipice of greatness and how the journey to achieve your dream is ultimately a journey toward finding yourself. And of course, some romance too, because to dance is to feel alive in your body and your soul, and to come alive in ways that change you indefinitely.”
Toni D’Antonio 's Shake The Tree’s AFM 2025 independent film slate brings star power, global partnerships, and bold storytelling to this year’s American Film Market.
Toni D’Antonio ‘s Shake The Tree’s AFM 2025 independent film slate brings star power, global partnerships, and bold storytelling to this year’s American Film Market.
The Independent Film Slate Shaking Up AFM 2025
The AFM 2025 independent film slate just got a serious jolt of flavor and fun-loving ambition. Shake The Tree Productions, the rising Los Angeles indie powerhouse led by producer-actress-CEO Toni D’Antonio, arrives at the American Film Market with a slate that feels both confident and unusually human.
In a year when Cannes, TIFF, Berlinale, and Hong Kong Filmart continue to jockey for global influence, Shake The Tree’s presence at AFM signals a refreshing, well-earned momentum.
“WE’RE BUILDING A DIVERSE, DYNAMIC, AND DEEPLY HUMAN SLATE WITH STRONG CREATIVE VOICES AND BOLD STORYTELLING,”
TONI D’ANTONIO