Scout Jesse Eisenberg's Sundance Deal Hurts Real Kieran Culkin – Deadline

Exclusive: Deal making has begun. Searchlight Pictures closed its first big deal on the ground at the Sundance Film Festival – $10 million for WW rights to Real pain, directed and written by Jesse Eisenberg. He stars with Emmy Award-winning Succession star Kieran Culkin as mismatched cousins ​​David and Benji. They reunite for a tour of Poland to honor their grandmother, but old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. The film will get a major theatrical release later this year.

Also starring: Jennifer Grey, Will Sharp, and Kurt Ejiawan (Monsters, not a nation), Lisa Sadovi (“little light”(And Daniel Oreskes)Murders only in the building). It is produced by Topic and Fruit Tree, with Ali Herting, Dave McCary, Ewa Buczynska, Jennifer Semler, Eisenberg and Emma Stone. The film, which is screening in US Dramatic Competition, has been an upcoming title of buzz and bidding buzz has been building since its premiere yesterday at Eccles.

The deal was brokered by CAA Media Finance and WME. It was a proper all-night auction, a throwback to years past at Sundance. Several presenters were in the mix. Searchlight executives Paul Hoffman and Chan Fung brokered the deal.

“We were blown away by Jesse's vision and skill in telling this funny and profound film,” said Searchlight presidents Matthew Greenfield and David Greenbaum. “It tells a deeply personal story and makes it universal. We can't wait to bring it to audiences around the world.”

“Made,” Eisenberg added Real pain It was a true labor of love, and it was so exciting to premiere at Sundance. I couldn't be more honored to work with Searchlight and bring this story to a wider audience.

“We couldn't be more proud of Jesse and this beautiful film, and we're thrilled to re-collaborate with David, Matthew, and our friends at Searchlight upon its release,” said Ryan Heller, executive vice president of films and documentaries at Topic Studios.

“We strongly believe in Jesse as a creative voice and are thrilled to collaborate again on his second film with such ambitious scope and themes,” Fruit Tree Camp said. “Having another beloved friend and collaborator in Kieran Culkin was more than we could ask for, as was working with the amazing team at Searchlight.”

Searchlight is currently working with Stone on Oscar-winning director Yorgos Lanthimos' Golden Lion Bad things; and Andrew Hay's critically acclaimed romantic drama We are all strangers. Directed by Laura Chinn, Searchlight makes its world premiere at Sundance sun coast, Starring Laura Linney, Nico Parker, Woody Harrelson. Searchlight has a long track record of cashing in on Sundance gems Napoleon dynamite For last year's deals Theater camp And Ahlam magazinethe latter was backed not because of the quality of the film and its performances, but because of the legal problems faced by star Jonathan Majors.

There was a lot of enthusiasm for many of the films that premiered in the festival's opening frame, and there's more to come today. More talk about deals than I've heard at this stage of the festival in several years. I'm not sure there will ever be a record like the $25 million Apple paid for the eventual Best Picture Oscar winner CODA, but a lot of these films will find homes. You probably won't sell until the buyers and sellers go home, because the pace of deal making is more deliberate than it was in the past because you can appreciate the artistry of the film, but you have to be sure you can market it, release it, and produce it. some money. But it's an exciting time in Park City.