A second Naomi Watts film gets picked up for release by Summit...

...making this the second straight story combining the actress and the studio. Here's what The Hollywood Reporter has to say on the matter:

Summit has added a second Naomi Watts feature to its release slate, with the announcement that it has picked up most worldwide rights to "The Impossible," in which Watts will co-star with Ewan McGregor.

Last week, Summit also acquired North American rights, along with several other territories, to Doug Liman's "Fair Game," in which Watts stars as outed CIA undercover operative Valerie Plame Wilson opposite Sean Penn.

While "Game" is completed and will debut at the Festival de Cannes, "Impossible," which Juan Antonio Bayona is directing from a script by Sergio G. Sanchez, begins filming in August in Alicante, Spain before moving to Thailand in October.

It is based on a true story that took place during the 2004 tsunami that hit the coast of Thailand. It is being produced by Belen Atienza, Lopez Lavigne and Alvaro Augustin for Spanish production companies Apaches Entertainment and Telecino Cinema, which are coproducing.

Bayona and Sanchez previously collaborated on "The Orphanage," which Bayona directed, Sanchez wrote and Atienza and Augustin executive produced.

Summit has acquired worldwide rights to "The Impossible," with the exception of Spain, where Warners will distribute. Summit International will begin selling rights to the film outside of North America at Cannes.

David Garrett, Summer International president, and Michael Schaefer, Summit senior vp acquisitions and co-productions, will oversee the project for the company.

Watts is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment. McGregor is repped by UTA, which also reps Apaches, and U.K. agent Lindy King of United Agents. Bayona is represented by WME.

-Thoughts?

Summit picks up Doug Liman's 'Fair Game' before its Cannes debut...

...perhaps signaling it might be an Oscar contender. Here's the story from The Hollywood Reporter:

Two weeks before its Cannes Competition premiere, Doug Liman’s fact-based “Fair Game” has been acquired by Summit Entertainment. The studio has picked up North American distribution rights to the political thriller as well as those in Italy, Benelux, Scandinavia, Japan and CIS.

Starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts, the film is based on the memoir written by undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson and her husband Joseph Wilson’s book, “Politics of Truth.” Jez Butterworth and John Butterworth wrote the screenplay.

Producers include Bill Pohlad of River Road Entertainment, Janet and Jerry Zucker of Zucker Prods., Akiva Goldsman of Weed Road Pictures, Liman via his Hypnotic banner, and Jez Butterworth. The film was financed by River Road, Participant Media and Imagenation Abu Dhabi.

“We choose our partners based on a like-minded philosophy,” said Imagenation Abu Dhabi’s CEO Ed Borgerding. “Participant, River Road and Summit share our commitment to supporting films that not only entertain, but also raise awareness of issues and encourage social change.”

-I'm interested in seeing how it does at Cannes...thoughts?

Summit gets the rights to 'Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus'...

...meaning another mediocre ensemble romantic comedy is on the horizon. Here's the story from The Hollywood Reporter:

Summit Entertainment is wading into the battle of the sexes by acquiring film and TV rights to John Gray's "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" franchise and has set Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun to produce a feature film via their BermanBraun banner.

The producers weren't ready to tip their hand about what direction the film might take, saying it was still in early development, but the moniker suggests the possibility of a high-concept ensemble comedy along the lines of the hit 2009 release "He's Just Not That Into You."

Summit president of production Erik Feig and vp production Meredith Milton will oversee the project with Andrew Mittman, head of feature film development at BermanBraun, who brought in the project.

Gray's original book about gender differences, whose title became a pop-culture catchphrase, was published in 1992 by HarperCollins. Its success triggered a dozen-plus "Mars/Venus" titles, selling more than 50 million books in 45 territories worldwide. The first book was on the New York Times best-seller list for nearly seven years.

The "Mars/Venus" property already has seen several media incarnations: It inspired a short-lived talk show, produced by Merv Griffin Entertainment and distributed by Sony, in 2000, and a musical comedy that bowed on Broadway in 1997. In addition, Gray's video/DVD lecture series has earned more than $100 million.

Berman and Braun called the franchise "the Rosetta Stone for understanding the opposite sex."

"While men and women may never truly speak the same language, we're thrilled to explore their perpetually hilarious, painful and romantic conflicts on the big screen," they added.

Said Feig, "We know it will become an amazing film and TV franchise.

-Thoughts?