Sundance Distribution Deals

A roundup from zap2it.com:

Sundance Dust Settles to Reveal Distribution Deals

By Andrew Rodgers

PARK CITY, Utah (Zap2it.com) -- The dust from the latest Sundance Film Festival hasn't quite settled, so it's still too soon to tally up all the distribution deals and count someone as a winner. That said, with the Academy Awards preparing to capture everyone's attention for the next few weeks, it's a good time to take stock of the films that did sell at this year's Sundance, and make note of the films which seem likely to seal a deal.

For starters, the 2006 Sundance film that landed the biggest distribution deal to date is the independent comedy "Little Miss Sunshine," directed by Michael Arndt and starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell and Toni Collette. Fox Searchlight made a significant play for the title in the hours immediately following the film's World Premiere and Variety reports the film sold for $10 million. In contrast, consider that Fox Searchlight paid approximately $3 million for "Napoleon Dynamite" in 2004. This deal also marks the first time a distributor has paid double-digits for a single film at Sundance since Miramax notoriously bought "Happy, Texas" in 1999 for $10 million.

The other early sale was the new Michel Gondry movie, "The Science of Sleep." Starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg, this visually stunning film was purchased for a reported $6 million by Warner Independent. IFC Films also stepped up to the plate with a pair of film buys: the popular Documentary Competition title "Worldplay" for an estimated $1 million and "Factotun," a Spectrum film, for an undisclosed sum.

Comedian-turned-filmmaker Bob (aka Bobcat) Goldthwait also scored with his independent laugher "Stay," about a woman who is haunted by an impulsive sexual encounter from her past. Roadside Attractions & Samuel Goldwyn Films purchased the North American rights while Gaumont picked up the foreign rights. Meanwhile, other indie distributors who jumped into the fray include Miramax, which purchased "The Night Listener," starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette; and ThinkFilm and Lionsgate, which each picked up a Dramatic Competition title: "Half-Nelson" (ThinkFilm) and "Right at Your Door" (Lionsgate).

A couple of smaller distributors also made a play for the domestic market. Films Philos purchased the Spectrum film "Man Push Cart," while Bauer Martinez purchased "The Darwin Awards" and Arrival Pictures acquired "La Tragedia de Macario." Also, a number of films picked up pieces of their foreign distribution, including "The Foot Fist Way" (Momentum bought UK rights), "TV Junkie" (Katapult purchased all rights except North America), "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" (BBW purchased UK broadcast rights) and "God Grew Tired of Us" (TF1 International bought rights to all non-English language territories).

What does this mean for all the films on the bubble or films that captured tremendous critical acclaim? Only that the next few weeks will be spent feverishly going from studio to studio to see who can offer the best deal. So, stay tuned for pending deals for films such as: "The Illusionist," "Iraq in Fragments," "Come Early Morning," "The Hawk Is Dying," "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints," "Wristcutters: A Love Story," "Black Gold," "13 Tzameti" and "The Trials of Darryl Hunt."