Domestic rights have been acquired for the following films:

  • Words and Pictures - Roadside Attractions has snapped up U.S. rights for Fred Schepisi's romantic dramedy starring Clive Owen (Sin City) and Juliette Binoche (Chocolat).
  • All Is by My Side - Open Road Films and Xlerator Media land domestic distribution rights for writer-director John Ridley's Jimi Hendix biopic starring André Benjamin (The Great Gatsby), Hayley Atwell (Captain America: The First Avenger) and Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later).
  • The Sacrament - Magnolia Pictures is finalizing a reported seven-figure deal for Ti West's found-footage horror-thriller starring Joe Swanberg (V/H/S), Amy Seimetz (Upstream Color) and AJ Bowen (You're Next).

Hit the jump for more.

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Here's the domestic rights buy-up for Words and Pictures:

ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS TAKES U.S. RIGHTS TO FRED SCHEPISI’S ‘WORDS AND PICTURES’ STARRING CLIVE OWEN AND JULIETTE BINOCHE  

(LOS ANGELES, CA) September 13, 2013 – Following its acclaimed world premiere as a Gala Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival, Roadside Attractions has acquired US rights to director Fred Schepisi’s adult romance, WORDS AND PICTURES, written by Gerald Di Pego and starring Oscar nominee Clive Owen (KILLER ELITE, BLOOD TIES) and Oscar winner Juliette Binoche (THE ENGLISH PATIENT, CHOCOLAT).

The film is produced by Latitude Productions’ Curtis Burch in association with Dallas-based Lascaux Films. Nancy Rae Stone serves as executive producer.

A writer whose talent has dried up (Owen) and an artist (Binoche), struggling to paint as her body betrays her, clash at the school where they teach, sparking both a flamboyant courtship and a school-wide war: which is more powerful, the Word or the Picture?

“Fred Schepisi’s charming film WORDS AND PICTURES features great performances by Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche -- in an uplifting, crowd-pleasing film about teachers who change the lives of both their students and each other with their passions for learning, life and the arts,” said Roadside Attractions’ co-President Howard Cohen.

Producer Curtis Burch said “After having received such fantastic responses from audiences in Toronto, we are thrilled to have made a deal with Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff and their world-class Roadside Attractions. Our movie is in excellent hands.”

The deal was negotiated by Roadside’s Cohen and CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.

Voltage Pictures is handling international rights to the film and presented the project to buyers at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Here's the domestic rights deal for All Is by My Side:

OPEN ROAD FILMS & XLRATOR MEDIA SECURE NORTH AMERICAN DISTRIBUTION TO “ALL IS BY MY SIDE” 

LOS ANGELES, CA, September 12, 2013 – Fresh off the film’s world premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, Open Road Films and XLrator Media have secured North American theatrical distribution rights for “All Is By My Side,” written/directed by John Ridley (“12 Years A Slave”) and starring André Benjamin.  The announcement was made today by Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films and Barry Gordon, CEO of XLrator Media.

“All Is By My Side” is produced by Darko Entertainment's Sean McKittrick (“Bad Words”), Jeff Culotta, and Danny Bramson, Freeman Films’ Brandon Freeman and Anthony Burns, Subotica’s Tristen Orpen Lynch, and Nigel Thomas of Matador Pictures, with Darko’s Edward H. Hamm, Jr., and John Ridley as executive producers.

Open Road Films CEO Tom Ortenberg stated, “We are excited to partner with XLrator Meida to bring this sensational story to moviegoers across the country.  From director/screenwriter John Ridley’s incredible vision, Andre Benjamin gives a mesmerizing performance as legendary Jimi Hendrix.”

“As a life-long Hendrix fan, this film was a revelation -- the gem of Toronto. We’re thrilled to partner with Open Road, the best-of-breed studio in the business, in a collaboration that combines the unique skill sets of our two companies,” said Gordon.

Described by Ridley as one of the most rarely told stories in rock history, “All Is By My Side” charts just over a year in a man’s life.  The year he blossomed and became Jimi Hendrix.  The year he spent as a young musician trying to make it on the streets and in the clubs of London, England.  The lovers, friends, and musical collaborators, who helped him get there.  Starring Andre Benjamin in an electrifying performance as Hendrix, “All Is By My Side” also features a stand out supporting cast including Hayley Atwell, Imogen Poots, and Ruth Negga.

International sales are being handled by Content Media Corporation

The deal was brokered by XLrator Media’s Barry Gordon, Open Road Films’ Tom Ortenberg, General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Operations and Business Affairs, Elliott Kleinberg, and Senior Vice President of Acquisitions, Ben Cotner and CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.

the-sacrament

Here's the press release for The Sacrament:

MAGNET TAKES NORTH AMERICAN RIGHTS TO TI WEST’S THE SACRAMENT

New York (September 18, 2013) – The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnet Releasing, genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, announced today that they have acquired North American rights to THE SACRAMENT, a chilling death-cult thriller written, directed and edited by Ti West. Featured in Venice and Toronto, THE SACRAMENT stars AJ Bowen (TheHouse of the Devil), Joe Swanberg (You’re Next) and Amy Seimetz (Upstream Color), and features a star-making performance from Gene Jones as the charismatic cult leader known as “Father.” Magnet and West are frequent collaborators, working together on West’s landmark horror film The House of the Devil, as well The Innkeepers, V/H/S and THE ABCs OF DEATH.  THE SACRAMENT was produced and financed by Worldview Entertainment.  Eli Roth, Jacob Jaffke, Peter Phok, and Worldview’s Christopher Woodrow and Molly Conners produced.

THE SACRAMENT stars Bowen and Swanberg as reporters for VICE Media who journey to a remote Central American compound along with a photographer (Kentucker Audley) hoping to reunite with his sister (Seimetz), who has dropped off the map after struggling with drug addiction. They find an isolated community of true believers devoted to a shadowy but charismatic figure called “Father.” Skeptical at first, the journalists begin to come around to the group’s utopian claims, until things rapidly take a very dark turn.

“We’re incredibly pleased to be furthering our fruitful collaboration with Ti, who continues to be one of the most exciting genre filmmakers working today,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “It is high praise and no understatement to say that THE SACRAMENT is Ti’s best film to date.”

"There is no distributor as dedicated to consistently bringing the highest quality independent films to audiences nationwide, whether it be through theatrical, or video on demand,” said Ti West.  “This will be my fifth collaboration with Magnolia Pictures, and I couldn't be happier.  They are the perfect home for a genre bending, confronting film like "THE SACRAMENT."

Producer Eli Roth said: “I'm thrilled to have Magnolia releasing the film.  Ti West made an incredibly smart, tense thriller with riveting performances and Magnet is the perfect distributor to really position this film to cross over with fans and critics alike.  The response in Toronto was phenomenal, and we're thrilled audiences across the country will get to discover what many consider Ti's best movie."

The deal was negotiated for Magnet by SVP of Acquisitions Dori Begley and VP of Acquisitions Peter Van Steemburg with CAA and UTA on behalf of the filmmakers. Magnet is planning a 2014 release.