FilmDistrict has announced its second major acquisition in Cannes, teaming up with TriStar on Rian Johnson’s highly anticipated time travel conceit.

Meanwhile it emerged late on Saturday night [14] that talks were heating up between UTA and domestic buyers on Julia Leigh’s Cannes competition entry Sleeping Beauty, as well as a trio of titles represented here by WME Global — Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine follow-up The Place Beyond The Pines with Ryan Gosling, Overdrive and Backmask.

Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (pictured) and Emily Blunt star In Looper, Endgame Entertainment’s sci-fi story about a hitman who disposes of his victims by sending them back into the past, only to discover one day that he has been assigned to kill his future self.

Ram Bergman produces with Endgame CEO Jim Stern in association with DMG and Endgame’s Doug Hansen served as executive producer. Endgame fully financed the project and Glen Basner’s FilmNation handles international sales.

CAA brokered the deal on Saturday night on behlaf of Endgame with Adrian Alperovich, president of acquisitions at FilmDistrict, who will partner with the Sony division on distribution and marketing.

”Looper is our second collaboration with Rian and Ram and it’s truly been a thrilling ride,” Stern said. “We look forward to continuing the journey with Sony and Peter in delivering this commercial thriller to audiences everywhere.”

“We have been chasing Looper for six months and it is something my entire team agreed would be a great film for us to distribute,” FIlmDistrict CEO Peter Schlessel said. “The fact that our friends at Sony feel the same makes it even more exciting.”

“We are very excited to be working with the entire team at Sony and Peter,” Bergman added. “District 9 was brilliant and Rian, Jim and I had this and Sony in mind as the group we wanted to release Looper.”

FilmDistrict announced last week it had moved on US rights to Millennium Films’ rom-com Playing The Field, which Gabriele Muccino will direct and will star Gerard Butler and Jessica Biel.

Last week it emerged that Sony was in talks to acquire Great Hope Springs, the sex therapy comedy starring Meryl Streep and Steve Carell.


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