As Deadline Told You, NEON Has Closed A Deal On Natalie Portman Music Drama ‘Vox Lux’ – Toronto
UPDATED with NEON confirmation: NEON has confirmed Deadline’s earlier scoop that it has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Vox Lux, the Natalie Portman movie directed by Brady Corbet that world premiered last week at the Toronto Film Festival. See the official release below the original story.
PREVIOUS, Monday PM: On Monday morning, Mike Fleming, Jr. broke the news that the Brady Corbet-directed Vox Lux starring Natalie Portman was edging towards closing a deal with NEON. The film premiered Sept. 7 at the Elgin Theatre and became one the buzziest acquisition titles at the Toronto Film Festival and NEON has closed the deal.
In the film, Portman stars as a female pop star who survives a school shooting and becomes famous writing and performing a tribute song to the victims but evolves into a broken woman. Jude Law also stars as the pop star’s manager while Raffey Cassidy plays the singer as a teenager.
Corbert wrote the script. The film was financed by Bold Films’ and Andrew Lauren Productions (ALP). Bold’s Michel Litvak, Gary Michael Walters, David Litvak and Svetlana Metkina serve as producers alongside ALP’s Andrew Lauren and D.J. Gugenheim as well as Christine Vachon from Killer Films, David Hinojosa, Brian Young from Three Six Zero Entertainment, and Robert Salerno. Portman and Law are executive producers along with Sia. In addition to Vox Lux, the hip distributor nabbed Tom Harper’s Wild Rose in Toronto.
NEON has proven itself as an influential distributor with contemporary films that straddle the line of indie cult and tastemaking mainstream. Titles under their glowing banner include a eccentric array of films including the dark kaiju comedy Colossal starring Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis, Ana Lily Amirpour’s dystopian cannibal horror/romance The Bad Batch starring Aquaman‘s Jason Momoa, the social media Single White Female-esque pic Ingrid Goes West with Elizabeth Olsen and Aubrey Plaza, as well as last year’s awards season darling I, Tonya starring Margot Robbie and Academy Award winner Allison Janney.
NEON recently released the critically acclaimed documentary Three Identical Strangers.
Here’s the distributor’s Vox Lux press release confirming the deal:
NEON has nabbed the U.S. rights to Vox Lux, written and directed by Brady Corbet (The Childhood of a Leader), and starring Academy Award® Winner Natalie Portman (Black Swan), Raffey Cassidy, Jude Law, and Stacy Martin. The drama made its World Premiere in competition to rave reviews at the Venice Film Festival, following the North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday.
Vox Lux follows the rise of Celeste (Portman) from the ashes of a major national tragedy to pop superstardom. The film, which features original songs by Sia and an original score by Scott Walker, spans 18 years and traces important cultural moments through her eyes, starting in 1999 and concluding in 2017.
Vox Lux is financed and produced by Bold Films and Andrew Lauren Productions (ALP), written and directed by Brady Corbet. ALP’s Andrew Lauren and D.J. Gugenheim (High Life) are producers along with Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and David Hinojosa (Carol), Bold Films’ Michel Litvak, Gary Michael Walters, David Litvak and Svetlana Metkina (Colette) and Brian Young from Three Six Zero and Robert Salerno. Portman and Law are executive producers along with Sia.
The domestic deal was negotiated by NEON with Endeavor Content and CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers. International sales of the film are being handled by eOne’s Sierra/Affinity.
At TIFF, NEON previously acquired Tom Harper’s inspiring musical dramedy Wild Rose, featuring a breakout performance by Jessie Buckley and the lauded documentary The Biggest Little Farm, which first debuted in Telluride.
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