Santa Monica-based Lightning Entertainment has added international rights to two romantic comedies heading into Cannes.

The company will show footage from Coach, a coming-of-age story starring Hugh Dancy, and Taking Chances, starring Justin Long.

Coach centres on a trust fund kid who finds love and maturity when he begins to coach a youth football team. It is the directorial debut from Will Frears, with a screenplay written by Jason Pugatch. Liane Balaban, Mamie Gummer and David Zayas also star.

Lemore Syvan, Jamie Gordon and Courtney Potts are producing the project, which is in post-production. Alison Palmer, Michael Roban and Damon Martin serve as executive producers.

Taking Chances sees Long playing as a young man who teams up with a wild girl to oppose the construction of a Native American casino in his home town.

Emmanuelle Chriqui also stars in the film, which will get its market debut screening. Talmage Cooley directed from a script by Annie Nocenti, with Larry Furlong, Lori Christopher, Michael Aguilar, Kyle Dean Jackson and David Guy Levy serving as producers.

Richard Guardian, co-president of Lightening Entertainment, said: “It’s no secret that broad commercial comedies have been a recipe for box office success in 2009 and all signs indicate that this trend will continue through the recession and beyond.

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