"Americana" Trailer: Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, and Halsey Race to Claim a Million-Dollar 'Ghost Shirt' in This Pulpy Crime Caper
Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, and Halsey star in this pulpy, Tarantino-style thriller about a valuable Native American garment causing mayhem and backstabbing.
They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. It’s a nice sentiment, meaning you should take whatever life throws at you and try to turn it into something positive... even if it starts off sour. So, what if life doesn’t give you lemons, but instead hands you a “ghost shirt” worth a million dollars? The question becomes, how do you keep it in your possession long enough to cash it in before others catch wind of it, and try to take it for themselves?
It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and everyone’s out for themselves in this new offbeat crime caper, Americana, featuring a stellar ensemble cast, plenty of high-stakes hijinks, and more twists and backstabbing to shake a stick at.
Sydney Sweeney stars as a small-town waitress with big dreams of becoming a Nashville country singer. Paul Walter Hauser plays her devoted suitor, a well-meaning dude who wants nothing more than to help her succeed... even if it means getting tangled up in a scheme that’s way over their heads.
Popstar Halsey also costars, and after her brief turn in the horror film MaXXXine, she takes a greater step into acting by playing a struggling single mother raising an oddball kid.
Meanwhile, the rest of the cast includes Simon Rex (Red Rocket, Blink Twice) as a shady antique collector, Zahn McClarnon (Reservation Dogs, Dark Winds) as a Native American delegate, and Eric Dane (Euphoria, Grey’s Anatomy) as a hired thief.
So, what do all these characters have in common? Well, they’re all in pursuit of a “ghost shirt,” a highly valuable ancient Native American garment worth a million bucks.
Thus, when a home invasion results in multiple murders, the priceless ghost shirt falls into the hands of a professional burglar (Dane), hired by a morally dubious dealer (Rex) to swipe the garment for his own gain. But when the burglar double-crosses his employer and keeps the shirt, it sets off a chaotic chain reaction of betrayal and misadventures as an increasingly desperate crew of misfits try to claim the million-dollar prize for themselves.
Some need the money for a better life (namely, Halsey’s character) and others need it to pursue their singing dreams (Sweeney), and they’re more than willing to take a lot of gunfire to get what they want.
Making his feature debut, Tony Tost wrote and directed this off-kilter crime thriller, which premiered back in 2023 to solid reviews at SXSW. Some even compared it to a Tarantino-style yarn, which should give people an idea of the pulpy, gritty vibe that the film is going for.
Tost is mainly known for his television work, writing and producing Longmire, Poker Face, and The Terror: Season 2 (Infamy). He also created the short-lived 2017 western thriller series Damnation, starring Logan Marshall-Green and Killian Scott.
Americana opens in theaters August 22nd. Watch the trailer, above.
Official Synopsis:
A gallery of dynamic characters clash over the possession of a rare Native American artifact in this wildly entertaining modern-day western. After the artifact falls onto the black market, a shy waitress with big dreams (Sydney Sweeney) teams up with a lovelorn military veteran (Paul Walter Hauser) to gain possession of it, putting them in the crosshairs of a ruthless criminal (Eric Dane) working on behalf of a Western antiquities dealer (Simon Rex). Bloodshed ensues when others join the battle, including the leader of an indigenous group (Zahn McClarnon) and a desperate woman fleeing her mysterious past (Halsey).
