Winter’s Bone became the latest film to land a domestic deal following IFC Films’ acquisition earlier in the day for The Killer Inside Me (pictured) as Sundance approached the finishing post.

Roadside Attractions paid low to mid-six figures for North American rights to Debra Granik’s widely acclaimed drama and plans a theatrical release this summer, with Lionsgate handling all ancillaries later in the year.

Dustin Smith and Howard Cohen began negotiations for Roadside with Josh Braun and Jason Janego of Submarine Entertainment immediately after the world premiere last Saturday (January 23) and the deal concluded this afternoon [30].

Jennifer Lawrence, arguably the discovery of the festival, plays a 17-year-old girl who braves Missouri’s Ozark Mountain country and the local criminal underworld in a bid to find her troubled father. The film will receive its international premiere in Berlin next month.

Earlier in the day IFC paid $1m-$1.5m for US rights to Michael Winterbottom’s crime drama The Killer Inside Me starring Casey Affleck as a sociopathic sheriff. Jesica Alba, Kate Hudson, Simon Baker and Bill Pullman also star.

IFC plans a big p&a and market commitment after vice-president of acquisitions and co-production Arianna Bocco concluded a marathon nocturnal negotiation with WME Global and the film’s co-producer and international sales agent Wild Bunch. The film screens in competition in Berlin next month.

As the festival neared the end, The Weinstein Company was poised to acquire domestic rights to Amir Bar-Lev’s documentary I’m Pat Tillman - a film it has pursued from the start - from Submarine and CAA. The Weinsteins took US rights on Friday to Blue Valentine.

The documentaries Joan Rivers – A Piece Of Work and Countdown To Zero, both being sold by Submarine, were expected to close shortly. WME Global expected to conclude a domestic deal for Adrian Grenier’s popular documentary Teenage Paparazzo by Monday or Tuesday, and was anticipating a mid-week deal on Mark Ruffalo’s feature directorial debut Sympathy For Delicious.

Ruffalo’s film has received a number of offers from traditional distributors and will screen back in Los Angeles to faith-based distributors, some of whom have entered the fray aggressively at the eleventh hour.

Among other titles drawing interest were Cane Toads: The Conquest, The Perfect Host, Lovers Of Hate, Catfish, and The Company Men.

Meanwhile Apparition, flush from a strong reaction to the world premiere of rock and roll biopic The Runawaysahead of the March 19 release date, was still being linked to Midnight selection Splice.

The company’s ancillary partner Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group is believed to have acquired video rights before the festival and it is now a matter of slotting in the domestic theatrical partner, which could mean a deal for Samuel Goldwyn or a member of the Sony fold, although several other buyers have expressed interest. CAA is handling sales.

 

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