Lionsgate has bought the U.S. distribution rights for 'American Ultra'
Lionsgate has paid $7 million for the U.S. distribution rights to “American Ultra,” a comedy starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart that will enter production in April, according to two individuals with knowledge of the deal. Lionsgate bought the rights on the strength of the script, written by Max Landis, and CAA’s overall package, which includes the two stars, “Project X” director Nima Nourizadeh and a handful of producers.
From The wrap:
Eisenberg will play an unwitting stoner who becomes the subject of a government operation while Stewart will play his girlfriend. Stewart has been very busy in the independent space since she concluded the “Twilight” saga, starring in Guantanamo Bay drama “Camp X-Ray,” which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Eisenberg, whose voice will be heard in the upcoming “Rio 2,” recently agreed to play Lex Luthor in Warner Bros.’ upcoming Batman/Superman movie.
The two last acted alongside one another in Greg Mottola’s “Adventureland,” a dramedy that earned stellar reviews. That film was not a huge commercial success, but “Project X,” Nourizadeh’s debut feature, was. It grossed just shy of $100 million worldwide at the box office two years ago.
Dealmaking for Nourizadeh’s follow-up began at the European Film Market in Berlin, and sales agents have been saying all year that a lot of the biggest film deals are now happening between festivals and markets rather than on the ground.
The $7 million deal marks another huge score for producer Anthony Bregman, whose film “Can a Song Save Your Life?” scored the biggest deal at the Toronto Film Festival last September. Bregman produced “American Ultra” with David Alpert and Britton Rizzio of Circle of Confusion. Plamstar Media Capital’s Kevin Scott Frakes and Merced Media Partner’s Raj Brinder Singh are executive producers. The film begins production in a few weeks in New Orleans.
From Deadline:
EXCLUSIVE: The appetite for scripts and partially finished films is soaring. Lionsgate is tying up a deal today to pay $7 million to pre-buy U.S. distribution rights to American Ultra, the action comedy that begins shooting in New Orleans in five weeks with Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart starring for Project X director Nima Nourizadeh. In the script by Chronicle writer Max Landis, Eisenberg plays a stoner whose small-town life with his live-in girlfriend (Stewart) is upended when his past catches up with him, putting him the crosshairs of a government operation bent on wiping him out. It’s a co-production between A Likely Story and Circle Of Confusion, with Anthony Bregman, David Alpert and Britton Rizzio producing, and Kevin Scott Frakes of Palmstar Media Capital and Raj Brinder Singh of Merced Media Partners exec producing.
The same team at CAA brokered this giant American Ultra deal with Lionsgate after the agency packaged the film and arranged the financing. While many felt that the results of the Berlin market were underwhelming, sometimes those festivals need to be evaluated by results that are not immediately evident. It is becoming more common for dialogue on big films like this one to begin at Berlin. Some of the deals fall in place shortly after, or during the Cannes Film Festival in May. Clearly, studios need to fill slots and haven’t been developing enough, so strong prices should continue to be paid for material and packaged pictures like American Ultra. Landis is repped by WME and Circle of Confusion.