We’ve got a few acquisition stories regarding films screening at the Toronton Film Festival to share this afternoon.  Briefly:

  • Lionsgate has acquired U.S. distribution rights to the comedy Imogene, which stars Kristen Wiig, Annette Bening, Matt Dillon and Darren Criss.
  • Lionsgate also picked up the sex addict dramedy Thanks for Sharing starring Mark Ruffalo, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Tim Robbins, directed by The Kids Are All Right scribe Stuart Blumberg.
  • Roadside Attractions has acquired the U.S. rights to Sarah Polley’s (Take This Waltz) much buzzed-about documentary Stories We Tell.
  • IFC Films picked up director Neil Jordan’s (Interview with the Vampire) vampire drama Byzantium, starring Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan.

Hit the jump for more details.

Imogene

 

imogene-kristen-wiig-darren-criss

Directed by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman (American Splendor), the film centers on a washed-up playwright (Wiig) who fakes her own suicide as a plot to get the attention of her ex-boyfriend and winds up remanded to the custody of her dysfunctional family.  Also, Darren Criss sings Backstreet Boys in the movie.  Per Variety, Lionsgate will release the film jointly with Roadside Attractions.

Thanks for Sharing

 

thanks-for-sharing-mark-ruffalo-gwyneth-paltrow

The dramedy marks the directorial debut of The Kids Are All Right scribe Stuart Blumberg and features an all-star cast that includes Mark Ruffalo, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim Robbins, Josh Gad, Patrick Fugit, Joely Richardson and Alecia Moore (aka Pink).  The story centers on three sex addicts struggling to function in a normal society, as Ruffalo plays an addict who’s trying to strike up a relationship with a woman who has sworn off dating other addicts (Paltrow), Robbins plays a man married to his high school sweetheart who actually becomes addicted to his 12-step recovery program, and Book of Mormon star Gad plays a young man whose addiction is so bad that he hides a camera in his shoe in order to film up women’s skirts.

Per Deadline, Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions will release the film theatrically in lieu of a VOD day-and-date plan.

Stories We Tell

stories-we-tell

One of the most talked about films of the festival is surely Sarah Polley’s engrossing documentary Stories We Tell.  The film “weaves together a beautifully assembled tapestry of home movies, interviews, and narration to examine the repercussions of long-held family secrets finally coming to light.  You can read Matt’s positive review right here.  The film is being prepped for a 2013 theatrical release.

Byzantium

saoirse-ronan-byzantium

Director Neil Jordan’s solemn tale of the depressing immortality of vampires centers on a mother/daughter duo who arrive in a small British town where their secret isn’t kept for long.  Per Deadline, IFC Films is planning a theatrical release that would broaden out to several hundred screens.  Read Matt's review right here.