John Krasinski’s The Hollars and Norman Lear Documentary Are Latest Sundance Buys

(via Variety/Deadline)

Looks like the biz still has faith in Sundance.

While there is plenty of evidence of studios buying up the distribution rights to host Sundance Film Festival titles only to have them underwhelm at the box office, the amount of money and movies being bought up seem to still going strong. Hopefully, their investments will go much better in 2016.

A Norman Lear documentary, Just Another Version of You, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady sold to Music Box Films from PBS & American Masters Pictures. As you can imagine, that should be required viewing for any student of comedy, television, or entertainment. 

John Krasinski’s latest film, The Hollars, in which he directs and stars, is classic indie dramedy fare that has a kind of prodigal son return home because of an ill parent only to face all the problems that he originally ran away from. The ensemble cast is impressive as well, featuring the likes of Margo Martindale, Charlie Day, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Randall Park, and Anna Kendrick. At Sundance, Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights both stateside and in Asia.

We’ll be on the look out for release dates.