After several days of toe-dipping, buyers in Park City finally took the plunge and closed a flurry of deals at the weekend.
Corporate stablemates Picturehouse and New Line swooped on rights to Seth Gordon's Slamdance documentary The King Of Kong.
The Weinstein Company paid in the region of $4m for worldwide rights to the tear-jerking Iraq widower drama Grace Is Gone and Magnolia Pictures announced their acquisition of Dan Klores' documentary Crazy Love.
But the Weinsteins weren't stopping there. At time of writing TWC and Lionsgate were understood to be in final negotiations to partner up on the release of Mitchell Lichtenstein's horror tale Teeth. No further details were available.
Picturehouse took North American rights to The King Of Kong and plans a summer release, while New Line has taken worldwide rights, all remake rights and the life rights of the main characters.
The film follows two rival video game players who battle it out for the world record score on the classic arcade game Donkey Kong.
Picturehouse president Bob Berney called the film 'incredibly feel-good', adding: 'The release of the film and the remake is a great example of the synergy between Picturehouse and New Line Cinema.'
New Line production president Toby Emmerich is keen to fast track production on the remake, which Gordon will direct with Beau Bauman producing and The King Is Kong producer Ed Cunningham serving as executive producer.
'After one viewing of this doc it was clear that this is the kind of project that will attract top-level comedic talent and should make for a very unique film,' Emmerich said.
The deal was negotiated by executive vice president of business affairs and co-productions Carolyn Blackwood for Picturehouse and New Line and Endeavor Independent and Christopher Keene of Archer Norris on behalf of the film-makers.
Harvey Weinstein, co-head of production Michael Cole, and executive vice president of acquisitions and co-productions Michelle Krumm closed the Grace Is Gone deal with Cinetic Media and WMA at 4.30am on Sunday, some 10 hours after the world premiere.
'Grace Is Gone moved me beyond words by giving the audience a glimpse into the devastating reality that families are facing every day,' Weinstein said. 'John Cusack's poignant performance blew me away - James [Strouse] has crafted a touching film that will tug at the heartstrings of all moviegoers.'
Cusack's performance as a stern father who takes his two daughters on a road trip to break the news that their soldier mother has been killed in Iraq had been touted as one to watch ahead of the festival.
'Every time Harvey and I have done something together, it's been a terrific experience,' Cusack said. 'We have a great track record together - and I know what he can do with a movie - so I couldn't be happier to be working with him and The Weinstein Company on Grace Is Gone.'
Cusack's New Crime Productions produced with Plum Pictures. Cusack, Galt Niederhoffer, Grace Loh, Celine Rattray, Daniela Taplin Lundberg served as producers. Cusack recently filmed the horror film 1408 for Dimension, which is set to open this summer.
Magnolia finally confirmed the widely heard rumour that it had picked up North American rights to Dan Klores' documentary Crazy Love. The deal closed before the first screening on Friday evening following a pre-festival screening.
The distributor will release Crazy Love in the spring after reportedly beating out around four sets of buyers. The film chronicles the notorious relationship between a married lawyer and a 20-year-old Bronx girl that started in the late 1950s and made headline news.
Klores co-directed with Fisher Stevens, who also produced. Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles, acquisitions chief Tom Quinn and head of business affairs Jason Janego negotiated the deal with Klores and Endeavor Independent's Graham Taylor and Mark Ankner. Andrew Herwitz' The Film Sales Company is handling international rights.
'Crazy Love is one of those rare pictures, like Capturing The Friedmans, that's so rich and intriguing that it has a strong chance of emerging as a cultural reference point,' Bowles said. 'Dan Klores has done an unbelievable job in handling this unbelievable story, one that truly defies fiction.'
'I am tremendously excited about working with all the great people at Magnolia,' Klores added. 'They have the experience, the passion and the enthusiasm we were looking for.'
In play heading into Sunday night were festival opener Chicago 10 and The Ten, as were Joshua, David Gordon Green's Snow Angels, Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, and Noise. Documentary In The Shadow Of The Moon was also attracting healthy interest, with several studios believed to be in the chase.
Corporate stablemates Picturehouse and New Line swooped on rights to Seth Gordon's Slamdance documentary The King Of Kong.
The Weinstein Company paid in the region of $4m for worldwide rights to the tear-jerking Iraq widower drama Grace Is Gone and Magnolia Pictures announced their acquisition of Dan Klores' documentary Crazy Love.
But the Weinsteins weren't stopping there. At time of writing TWC and Lionsgate were understood to be in final negotiations to partner up on the release of Mitchell Lichtenstein's horror tale Teeth. No further details were available.
Picturehouse took North American rights to The King Of Kong and plans a summer release, while New Line has taken worldwide rights, all remake rights and the life rights of the main characters.
The film follows two rival video game players who battle it out for the world record score on the classic arcade game Donkey Kong.
Picturehouse president Bob Berney called the film 'incredibly feel-good', adding: 'The release of the film and the remake is a great example of the synergy between Picturehouse and New Line Cinema.'
New Line production president Toby Emmerich is keen to fast track production on the remake, which Gordon will direct with Beau Bauman producing and The King Is Kong producer Ed Cunningham serving as executive producer.
'After one viewing of this doc it was clear that this is the kind of project that will attract top-level comedic talent and should make for a very unique film,' Emmerich said.
The deal was negotiated by executive vice president of business affairs and co-productions Carolyn Blackwood for Picturehouse and New Line and Endeavor Independent and Christopher Keene of Archer Norris on behalf of the film-makers.
Harvey Weinstein, co-head of production Michael Cole, and executive vice president of acquisitions and co-productions Michelle Krumm closed the Grace Is Gone deal with Cinetic Media and WMA at 4.30am on Sunday, some 10 hours after the world premiere.
'Grace Is Gone moved me beyond words by giving the audience a glimpse into the devastating reality that families are facing every day,' Weinstein said. 'John Cusack's poignant performance blew me away - James [Strouse] has crafted a touching film that will tug at the heartstrings of all moviegoers.'
Cusack's performance as a stern father who takes his two daughters on a road trip to break the news that their soldier mother has been killed in Iraq had been touted as one to watch ahead of the festival.
'Every time Harvey and I have done something together, it's been a terrific experience,' Cusack said. 'We have a great track record together - and I know what he can do with a movie - so I couldn't be happier to be working with him and The Weinstein Company on Grace Is Gone.'
Cusack's New Crime Productions produced with Plum Pictures. Cusack, Galt Niederhoffer, Grace Loh, Celine Rattray, Daniela Taplin Lundberg served as producers. Cusack recently filmed the horror film 1408 for Dimension, which is set to open this summer.
Magnolia finally confirmed the widely heard rumour that it had picked up North American rights to Dan Klores' documentary Crazy Love. The deal closed before the first screening on Friday evening following a pre-festival screening.
The distributor will release Crazy Love in the spring after reportedly beating out around four sets of buyers. The film chronicles the notorious relationship between a married lawyer and a 20-year-old Bronx girl that started in the late 1950s and made headline news.
Klores co-directed with Fisher Stevens, who also produced. Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles, acquisitions chief Tom Quinn and head of business affairs Jason Janego negotiated the deal with Klores and Endeavor Independent's Graham Taylor and Mark Ankner. Andrew Herwitz' The Film Sales Company is handling international rights.
'Crazy Love is one of those rare pictures, like Capturing The Friedmans, that's so rich and intriguing that it has a strong chance of emerging as a cultural reference point,' Bowles said. 'Dan Klores has done an unbelievable job in handling this unbelievable story, one that truly defies fiction.'
'I am tremendously excited about working with all the great people at Magnolia,' Klores added. 'They have the experience, the passion and the enthusiasm we were looking for.'
In play heading into Sunday night were festival opener Chicago 10 and The Ten, as were Joshua, David Gordon Green's Snow Angels, Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, and Noise. Documentary In The Shadow Of The Moon was also attracting healthy interest, with several studios believed to be in the chase.
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