Film Acquisition Rundown: Fox Searchlight Buys ‘The Old Man and The Gun,’ Grasshopper Film Picks Up ‘Bronx Gothic’ and More
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
-Fox Searchlight will acquire the U.S., Canada and U.K. rights to to “The Old Man And The Gun,” Deadline reports. Director David Lowery’s drama stars Robert Redford, Casey Affleck, Sissy Spacek and Danny Glover and begins shooting on April 3.
Based on a true story, the film centers on bank robber and 17-time prison escapee Forrest Tucker (Redford). Affleck plays a detective obsessed with bringing Tucker to justice while Spacek plays Tucker’s love interest. The film is produced by Conde Nast Entertainment Wildwood Enterprises and Identity Films.
-Grasshopper Film has acquired the U.S. rights to Andrew Rossi’s “Bronx Gothic,” a portrait of the writer and performer Okwui Okpokwasili and her critically-acclaimed one-woman show. Rooted in memories of her childhood, Okwui — who’s worked with conceptual artists like Ralph Lemon and Julie Taymor — fuses dance, song, drama and comedy to create a mesmerizing space in which audiences can engage with a story about two 12-year-old black girls coming of age in the 1980s.
“Watching ‘Bronx Gothic’ was as exhilarating for me as it must’ve been for the audiences in the film watching Okwui’s performance,” Grasshopper Film founder and president Ryan Krivoshey said in a statement. “Andrew’s film captures the dynamism of this extraordinary live show, while also laying bare the political and creative forces behind it.” The film will open at Film Forum on July 12.
-Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios are partnering on the theatrical release of Marc Webb’s “The Only Living Boy In New York,” Deadline reports. The drama stars Kate Beckinsale, Jeff Bridges, Pierce Brosnan, Cynthia Nixon Kiersey Clemons and Callum Turner.
“The Only Living Boy In New York” stars Turner as a recent college grad and aspiring writer who has an affair with his father’s mistress (Beckinsale). Clemons plays Callum’s girlfriend while Bridges plays an eccentric author who a mentor to the young man. The movie will hit theaters on August 11. Roadside and Amazon previously on partnered on Whit Stillman’s “Love & Friendship.”
-Paladin and Electric Entertainment will release Bette Gordon’s psychological thriller, “The Drowning” in theaters on May 10. Based on “Border Crossing,” Pat Barker’s controversial novel about violence in children, the project was adapted for the screen by Stephen Molton and House of Cards showrunner Frank Pugliese and stars Julia Stiles, Josh Charles, Avan Jogia, Tracie Thoms and Leo Fitzpatrick.
A Film Community production, “The Drowning” is the story of a forensic psychologist who is haunted by his expert witness testimony that sent a young boy to prison for a chilling murder. When the boy later reappears in his life, he is drawn into a destructive, soul-searching reinvestigation of the case.
-Saban Films and DirecTV have acquired the North American rights to “Small Town Crime,” the thriller starring John Hawkes, Anthony Anderson, Robert Forster and Octavia Spencer. Written and directed by Eshom and Ian Nelms, the film had its world premier at the South by Southwest Film Festival.
Small Town Crime follows ex-cop Mike Kendall (Hawkes) who discovers the body of a young woman and, in an act of self-redemption, becomes hellbent on finding the killer. While his un-couth and quirky detective style helps break open the case, his dogged determination unwittingly puts his sister (Octavia Spencer) and best friend (Anthony Anderson) in danger. “Small Town Crimes” was financed and developed by Avva Pictures.
-Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights to “Person to Person,” the second feature from writer-director Dustin Guy Defa. The film follows a day in the lives of a motley crew of New Yorkers and stars Michael Cera, Abbi Jacobson, Tavi Gevinson, Isiah Whitlock, Michaela Watkins, Olivia Lucciardi, Ben Rosenfield, Buddy Durress, Bene Coopersmith, George Sample III and Philip Baker Hall.
“Person to Person,” world premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and will next have its New York premiere on Saturday as the Closing Night selection of New Directors/New Films 2017, presented by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Magnolia plans to release the film later this year.
-Arcadia Releasing Group will release writer-director Kenneth Mader’s award-winning sci-fi thriller Displacement for a theatrical run in Los Angeles at Laemmle’s Monica Film Center as well as on VOD on April 28th, followed by play dates in Chicago and Dallas. The film stars Method Fest and Courtney Hope alongside Bruce Davison, Susan Blakely, Sarah Douglas, Lou Richards and Christopher Backus.
Have you ever wanted a second chance? To give someone a gift you weren’t able to give? Tell them you loved them one last time? These are the questions at the heart of “Displacement,” a character-driven time travel story that explores themes of love and loss, the power of forgiveness, and the consequences of turning back the clock.
-Freestyle Digital Media has acquired the North American rights to the adventure comedy “Neil Stryker and the Tyrant of Time.” The film debuts on VOD through on April 11. Set in a madcap future era, where a mad scientist rains chaos on the city in a quest for revenge against the man who put him away, the film follows Neil as he races through time to save the world and rescue his son from the clutches of his infamous former mentor. “Neil Stryker and the Tyrant of Time” was directed and co-written by by its lead actor, Rob Taylor. Special guest appearances include David Ogden Stiers (“M.A.S.H.”) and Walter Koenig (“Star Trek”).
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