A few more exciting acquisition deals have been announced out of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.  Briefly:

  • Joe – Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have taken U.S. rights to director David Gordon Green’s drama, per THR. Nicolas Cage stars as an ex-con who befriends a hard-luck kid, played by Tye Sheridan.  Additionally, WestEnd Films will handle a number of other territories including the UK and Japan.  Click here to watch Steve's interview with Cage and Green at TIFF.
  • Enemy – One of the buzziest titles at TIFF was director Dennis Villeneuve’s trippy pic, starring Jake Gyllenhaal in dual roles.  Per The Wrap, A24 Films is in final talks to acquire U.S. rights to the film after an intense bidding war, and a platform release in the spring is planned.  This is one of two Villeneuve/Gyllenhaal films at TIFF, with the other being Prisoners.
  • Under the Skin – Per THR, A24 Films has also acquired another much talked-about TIFF film, director Jonathan Glazer’s (Sexy Beast) erotic alien thriller starring Scarlett Johansson.  Glazer used hidden cameras and non-actors to portray the victims of Johansson’s alien invader, and word has been very positive.

Hit the jump for the press releases, and look for Matt’s reviews of Joe and Under the Skin on Collider soon.  Click here to catch up on all of our TIFF 2013 coverage thus far.

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Here’s the press release for Joe:

WESTEND FILMS SEALS TORONTO DEALS ON DAVID GORDON GREEN’S JOE

September 13, 2013 (Toronto, Canada): International sales company WestEnd Films has closed a raft of deals on David Gordon Green's JOE, starring Nicholas Cage and Tye Sheridan which is financed and produced by Worldview Entertainment - following its World Premiere in Venice and plays at Deauville and Toronto.

In addition to Artificial Eye's acquisition for the UK, deals closed by WestEnd in Toronto include sales to Japan (CCC), Australia (Madman), Benelux (Cineart) and Scandinavia (Non Stop).

The title had previously sold to France (Wild Side), Germany (Koch Media), Latin America (Swen), the Middle East (ECS), Turkey (Bir Film), Thailand (Dreams Vision), Taiwan (Filmware), Malaysia (Suraya), China (Media Asia), Hungary (Cinenuovo), Ex-Yugoslavia (MCF), Portugal (Pris Audiovisuals), Bulgaria (A Plus), Israel (United King), and Greece (Spentzos Films).

CAA is repping the North America rights.

‘Joe’ is based on the novel by Larry Brown, and tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a 15-year-old boy (Tye Sheridan) from a troubled family and the eponymous hard-drinking, tough-living Joe (Nicolas Cage). Sheridan landed the The Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor for his role at the Venice Film Festival.

JOE is produced by Green, long-time producer Lisa Muskat and Worldview CEO, Christopher Woodrow, alongside Derrick Tseng. Worldview Entertainment’s Molly Conners, Maria Cestone and Sarah E. Johnson are executive producing with Dreambridge Film’s Todd Labarowski, Brad Coolidge and Melissa Coolidge alongside Rough House’s Jody Hill and Danny McBride.

WestEnd Films is next partnering with Worldview and Dreambridge Films on David Gordon Green’s “Manglehorn,” starring Academy Award winner Al Pacino, Holly Hunter, Chris Messina and Harmony Korine.