Me and Earl and the Dying Girl has set a record-breaking sale at this year’s Sundance film festival!
Practically every major movie studio wanted to distribute the film when it premiered at the festival. On Sunday, Fox Searchlight was in the lead with the highest bid of $12 million, though insiders denied talks of that high of a range. Other studios said to be in contention for the rights included Focus, CBS Films, Lionsgate, A24 and Miramax.
However, early Monday morning Deadline reported that the winning record-breaking bid for $12 million was Fox Searchlight and Indian Paintbrush who are teaming up for worldwide rights on Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. The two studios most recently worked together on Wes Anderson’s Best Picture Oscar nominee The Grand Budapest Hotel.
“We are so thrilled to be a part of this film – the movie completely floored us and stole our hearts,” said Searchlight presidents Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula. “The response at the festival has been extraordinary. The performances are honest and relatable and the film is smart, funny and original.”
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl has officially toppled previously set records of Little Miss Sunshine and Hamlet 2, both of which were sold for roughly $10 million at the festival.
Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, the film is based on the book of the same name by Jesse Andrews, and stars Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Ouija and Bates Motel star Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman and Connie Britton. It follows the story of a film geek (Mann) who’s trying to stay out of the social spotlight his senior year of high school, choosing instead to make films with his only friend (Cyler). However, his livelihood is threatened when his mom forces him to befriend a girl who’s suffering from leukemia (Cooke).
The Hollywood Reporter called it “film-geek friendly but thoroughly accessible and very funny,” while Variety praised its “near-constant stream of wise, insightful jokes. The film is said to be similar in tone to The Fault in Our Stars and The Spectacular Now.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is set for a 2015 release, said Fox confirming the deal.
