Warner, Sony snap up market titles

Warner Bros and Sony’s acquisitions teams have been looking to hoover up foreign rights in Cannes as the studios seek to fill their dwindling international pipelines.

Warner Bros International Film Acquisitions president Camela Galano has struck a five-territory deal with Morgan Creek for the Jim Sheridan thriller Dream House, acquiring rights in the UK, France, Spain, Australia/New Zealand and Latin America.

Galano also closed a deal with Nu Image to buy Conan for Warner Bros in Germany.

Production has just wrapped on Dream House starring Daniel Craig (pictured), Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts. Danny Diamond and Brian Robinson closed further deals for Morgan Creek with ProSieben in Germany and Medusa in Italy.

Meanwhile Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group has licensed all rights from Focus Features International to Joe Wright’s thriller Hanna starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana outside of North America, the UK, Australia/NZ, Greece, Israel, Middle East, and CIS.

Morgan Creek has pre-sold the Keanu Reeves sci-fi romance Passengers To Medusa in Italy and to Telemunchen for Germany. Company founder Jim Robinson and director Gabriele Muccino were in town to introduce the $90m project to buyers.

Robinson described Passengers as an Adam and Eve story set in is the future, Reeves will play a mechanic on a 120-year journey to a colonised planet in another galaxy. On board a massive vessel containing 5,000 pods of humans in suspended animated, he awakens 100 years too soon and decides to wake up a beautiful journalist with whom he has fallen in love. Problems ensue when she learns about his act, and the ship begins to malfunction.

“The response to [Passengers] in Cannes is tremendous,” Diamond said. “In addition to the deals we have already closed, we are currently closing deals with other distributors. We expect more significant announcements within the next few days.”

Universal holds North American rights to all Morgan Creek productions through 2013.