Three suitors snag Lady Bird
No big-dollar deals yet, but critical favourite of fest has made its distributor picks
Beyond the crowds and celebrity sightings, TIFF is about deal making, and if there is a prize catch this year for independent distributors looking to buy films, it’s Lady Bird.
The coming-of-age story starring Saoirse Ronan, from actor turned first-time director Greta Gerwig, was a prime target of many; the film is riding a wave of rave reviews and Gerwig is an indie darling on the verge of being a huge star.
And now the winners are known: Lady Bird will be distributed by Toronto-based Elevation Pictures in Canada; A24 gets the U.S. rights; and Focus Features secured the rights earlier in the week to the film outside of North America. The muchbuzzed-about movie is now slated to come out Nov. 11.
“A lot of people were interested in Lady Bird, and we are very excited to be working with A24 and the film- making team on the release of the movie,” said Adrian Love, senior vice-president of acquisitions and marketing of Elevation, which had the rights to what’s seen as a strong slate of films in this year’s festival even before the Lady Bird deal.
Movies from independent producers arrive at TIFF every year seeking distribution and, preferably, theatrical release around the world, and this year was no exception.
A number of sales were made; industry site Thewrap.com reported that over $50 million (all figures U.S.) has been spent cumulatively, but no single deal surpassed $5 million.
“There’s been a lot that’s been available, and it’s pretty much in line in past years,” said Andrew Frank, vicepresident of acquisitions at Mongrel Media, which this year brought buzzy films to TIFF including openingnight gala selection Borg/McEnroe and Call Me By Your Name.
“I’d say overall, really the activity has been on the quieter side than usual, certainly compared to Sundance, which was crazy with Amazon and Netflix buying everything up.”
The growth of streaming services has created a new venue for many films, but also affected the movierental business.
“In general, distributors need to be more conscious than ever of both what the critical and audience reaction will be to a film,” Love said.
Netflix has made one move notable to many Canadians — subscribers abroad can look forward to watching Long Time Running, the Tragically Hip concert documentary that premiered at the festival. It’s coming to that service outside of Canada on Nov. 26, though the terms of the deal, first reported by the Hollywood Reporter, are not available.