Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures will finance and produce the psychological thriller and Open Road has acquired all US rights. FilmNation is handling international and will introduce to buyers at the EFM next month.

Production is set to commence in April in time for release in the first half of 2013.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura is producing Side Effects – formerly known as Bitter Pill – with Gregory Jacobs and Scott Z Burns, Soderbergh’s frequent collaborator who also wrote the screenplay.

Ellison, Annapurna COO Marc Butan and Ted Schipper will serve as executive producers.  

“We are thrilled that Steven Soderbergh is bringing his next thriller to Open Road,” CEO Tom Ortenberg said. “It is an amazing script from Scott Burns with extremely talented producers in Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Greg Jacobs. We couldn’t be more excited to be working with Annapurna and this fantastic team of filmmakers.”

“With Annapurna and Open Road on board, we have assembled a fantastic team to support and help guide this project,” Di Bonaventura, Jacobs and Burns in a joint statement. “We look forward to sharing the names of the talented actors attached to Side Effects and to getting cameras rolling this spring.”

The deal was negotiated on behalf of Open Road Films by Ortenberg, general counsel and evp of operations and business affairs Elliott Kleinberg, and svp of acquisitions Ben Cotner.  

Topics