THE WACKNESS

Monday, January 28---------With filmmakers and professionals back at their home bases, a few last minute deals for this year's Sundance season were still announced on the Festival's final day. Sony Pictures Classics, who have been unusually active this year, has closed a deal for North American rights to Jonathan Levine's THE WACKNESS, which stars Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley as a New York City pscyhiatrist who trades therapy for marijuana. The film, which won the Feature Audience Award at the Festival, makes the third title that the esteemed distributor has picked up in Park City. Previous announcements concerned the acquisitions of FROZEN RIVER, the Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner, and BAGHEAD, a wicked satire on independent filmmaking by the Duplass brothers, which screened in the Spectrum section.

The soccer film KICKING IT, directed by Susan Koch, has been acquired for North American theatrical rights by Liberation Entertainment, which will join forces with Netflix's Red Envelope Entertainment and cable sports network  ESPN for the film's release in theaters later this year. In a unique deal brokered by CAA and Submarine, immediately following the theatrical release, Netflix will distribute the film to its subscribers on DVD and via online streaming simultaneous with the ESPN broadcast. This unique day-and-date release will be closely watched in the industry as an example of how documentaries can be cross-promoted across media platforms. The film, which has been a favorite here, is the story of seven players from six countries competing in the 4th Annual Homeless World Cup.

Expect more deals to be announced in the coming days.

Sandy Mandelberger, Sundance FF Editor