‘Dual’: RLJE Films Prevails In Bidding War To Acquire Sundance Sci-Fi Thriller Starring Karen Gillan And Aaron Paul

EXCLUSIVE: Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North American rights to the narrative documentary Acting: The First Six Lessons, written by and starring Beau Bridges and his daughter Emily Bridges. The digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios plans to release the drama across VOD platforms on March 8.

Deep Water, an erotic thriller from director Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal). After nearly two years of sitting on a shelf somewhere, the film—which was supposed to come out in 2020—finally has a release date: It will premiere on on March 18, and the first trailer just dropped. In the—very erotic, you've been warned—teaser, Ana de Armas and Ben Affleck sit in a park and stare into each other's eyes while discussing their love for each other.

EXCLUSIVE: IFC Films has acquired North American rights to Julian Higgins’ feature directorial debut God’s Country, starring BAFTA and Emmy winner Thandiwe Newton (Westworld, Crash), on the heels of its debut at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. It will release the film won in a bidding war in theaters this fall.

Roadside Attractions is taking U.S. distribution rights to Oscar-Nominee Phyllis Nagy’s theatrical feature directorial debut, Call Jane. A theatrical release is planned for the film this year.

EXCLUSIVE: Cinedigm has acquired North American rights to Coast, a coming-of-age drama starring Fatima Ptacek (Dora the Explorer), stand-up comedian Cristela Alonzo (Cristela), Academy Award winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter) and Ciara Bravo (Cherry), with plans to release it day-and-date in theaters and on VOD on April 8. VMI Worldwide, which is handling international sales and distribution, will rep the film at the Berlin Film Festival when it kicks off on February 10.

AMC+ and RLJE Films have acquired worldwide rights to the holiday comedy Christmas with the Campbells, starring Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect franchise), Justin Long (He’s Just Not That Into You), Alex Moffat (Saturday Night Live), Julia Duffy (Newhart), George Wendt (Cheers) and JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Sweet Magnolias). The film produced by Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Picture Show will simultaneously hit theaters and AMC+ in the U.S. in late fall.

After being introduced to the world as part of the cast of “Mad Men” and then redefining herself in the recent Netflix series, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrine,” it appears actress Kiernan Shipka is ready to jump back into the world of TV in the new series, “Swimming with Sharks.” According to The Roku Channel, the streaming service is going to release a TV adaptation of “Swimming with Sharks” starring Shipka alongside Diane Kruger.

Roku will drop Quibi’s reboot series of George Huang’s Swimming With Sharks, starring Diane Kruger and Kiernan Shipka, this spring.

Production company MUBI has acquired Julie Ha and Eugene Yi’s documentary “Free Chol Soo Lee” that premiered last week at Sundance, the company said in a release.The film has been acquired for North America, UK, Ireland, Latin America, German, Austria, Italy and Turkey and will release theatrically in 2022 in the U.S., with plans for other regions coming later.The documentary is about a movement in the 1970s in San Francisco, where a 20-year-old Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee gets racially profiled and convicted of a Chinatown gang murder. Lee is sentenced to life and fights to survive until a journalist takes up his case and ignites a social justice movement in the Asian American community.

Wyatte Grantham-Philips editor“Free Chol Soo Lee” has been acquired by global distributor, streamer and production company MUBI.The documentary, which premiered last week at the Sundance Film Festival, will come to U.S. theaters in 2022, with release plans in other territories (Latin America, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Turkey, the U.K.

Angelique Jackson Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to the Sundance award-winning documentary “Descendant,” by filmmaker Margaret Brown (“The Order of Myths,” “Be Here to Love Me: Townes Van Zandt,” “The Great Invisible”). Higher Ground, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, will present the Participant feature alongside Netflix later this year.The film follows members of Africatown, a small community in Alabama, as they share their personal stories and community history as descendants of the Clotilda, the last known ship carrying enslaved Africans to the United States.

IFC Films and Shudder have taken North American rights to Andrew Semans’ psychological thriller Resurrection starring Rebecca Hall, Tim Roth, Grace Kaufman and Michael Esper.

EXCLUSIVE: Saban Films has acquired North American and other overseas territory rights to The Old Way, the Western from director Brett Donowho that stars Nicolas Cage. The distributor is targeting a theatrical and VOD release for the pic sometime during the fourth quarter of 2022.

IndieWire.“My biggest challenge was first of all getting out there — that was a challenge, but I’ll save that for another day,” he said. “But I got out there [and] just dealing with the jet lag at all.

The 2022 virtual edition of the Sundance Film Festival is in full swing, and among the films making a debt at this year’s fest is “Dual”, a dark comedy starring Karen Gillan (“Doctor Who”, “Guardians of the Galaxy”) and Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”).

LD Entertainment has unveiled a trailer for its gothic thriller The Cursed, starring Boyd Holbrook (The Sandman, Logan), Kelly Reilly (Yellowstone, True Detective) and Alistair Petrie (Sex Education, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), also announcing that it will be released in theaters nationwide on February 18.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterJake Gyllenhaal is set to star in “Cut and Run,” a heist thriller about a group of thieves who use high-powered speed boats to rob super-yachts. Their caper takes a turn when they steal the wrong thing from the wrong group of people.New Republic Pictures won rights to the spec script, written by John Glenn, after a bidding war with several potential buyers.In addition to starring, Gyllenhaal will produce the film through his company Nine Stories Productions.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaRLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has taken all U.S. rights to “Dual,” a sci-fi film about cloning with Karen Gillan and Aaron Paul, in a low to mid seven figure deal. XYZ Films, CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group closed the deal with RLJE Films last night in a competitive bidding situation following the film’s Sundance premiere.

“Dual,” the latest film from director Riley Stearns that stars Karen Gillan and Aaron Paul, has sold its U.S. rights to RLJE Films, a division of AMC Networks, for a deal that landed in the low to mid 7-figure range.