The Weinstein Co. has acquired U.S. distribution rights to John Wells’ directorial debut, “The Company Men.” A release is planned for later in the year.
The downsizing drama, which was inspired by the experiences of one of Wells’ in-laws, had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January. The deal, which includes a mid seven-figure P&A commitment, was brokered by David Glasser and Peter Lawson of the Weinstein Company and CAA, which also set up financing for the film.
“I am thrilled to be in business with John Wells and my old friend Ben Affleck,” said Harvey Weinstein. “John has put together a tremendous cast to tell this timely story, and I look forward to bringing it to audiences.”
This marks the Weinstein Company’s third acquisition from the 2010 Sundance event. The company picked up North American and Pan-Asian rights to the indie drama “Blue Valentine” for low seven figures during the fest. And in the weeks after the festival it acquired North American and English-language rights to the documentary “The Tillman Story.”
“Company Men” stars Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Tommy Lee Jones and Kevin Costner in a drama about how layoffs at an industrial plant affect three generations of men and their families. Wells wrote and directed the film, which he produced along with Claire Rudnick Polstein and Paula Weinstein.
IM Global continues to handle international rights to the film.
-This gives the Weinsteins some very interesting flicks this year...thoughts?
Posts
They also have Blue Valentine, The King's Speech, and Nowhere Boy, to name a few...
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to see TWC doing more of what originally made Miramax so great, finding unique independent films and bringing them to the masses to be critical and commercial success stories.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that this (The Company Men) is the most unique film out there (and it only got mixed reviews at Sundance), but they tend to be the right ones to make a mountain out of a molehill (though I'd argue Fox Searchlight has surpassed them in that regard). Blue Valentine seems like their best bet, but we'll see...
ReplyDeleteIndiewire has a good article on TWC, who I admit I do root for in a way, since they gave us so many great films.
ReplyDeleteHere's the article: http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2010/03/24/weinsteins_acquire_company_men_return_to_indie_basics/