For fans of the low-budget, artsy, awards type of films, this year’s Toronto Film Festival is sure to inspire some hope for the future, as many of the movies at the film festival are being hungrily bid on by the big studios, who clearly are looking for awards contenders and movies to help round out their typically sequels/ superheroes heavy schedules. Big deals already announced are Fox Searchlight picking up ‘Jackie’ (directed by Pablo Larrain), Focus Features signing a deal to get Paul Thomas Anderson’s next untitled project (which will also star Daniel Day Lewis), and Lionsgate’s deal to acquire ‘Kin’ (directed by Jonathan and Josh Anderson). The next movie predicted to spark a bidding war is ‘Birth of the Dragon’ (directed by George Nolfi), the story of Bruce Lee’s infamous fight with Won Jack Man, a film that lacks any big stars, but does have WW rights available, although one big star is the narrator Steve McQueen.
The big news of today comes from the purchasing of Anne Hathaway’s new film from the festival, ‘Colossal,’ which was purchased by an unknown Chinese-based media company for mid-seven figures for the rights to the film, and is hoping for a a big 2017 theatrical release. The film itself is about a woman (played by Hathaway) who believes she has some kind of mental link to a monster currently destroying Seoul, and her attempts to use that link to stop the monster. As for the chinese company that bought the film, apparently they will be unveiling their identity in a few weeks when they also announce their investment in a new U.S. based studio.
Are you intrigued by the premise of ‘Colossal,’ and the fact that a foreign conglomerate would pay that much money for it? Do you think these smaller films are the future of the industry? Share your theories and opinions in the comments section below!
Source: Deadline
Nick is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, who belongs to the privileged few who enjoyed the ending to ‘Lost.’ For more of Nick’s thoughts and articles, follow him on Twitter (@starfro67)
