Sundance 2013: ‘The Way Way Back’ selling to Fox Searchlight
PARK CITY, Utah -- In what could be one of the richest deals in Sundance Film Festival history, Fox Searchlight has bought distribution rights to “The Way Way Back,” two people close to the film said early Tuesday.
The studio did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
The movie, directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, who shared screenplay credit on “The Descendants,” stars Liam James as Duncan, a 14-year-old boy spending a miserable summer in a Massachusetts beach town. His mother, played by Toni Colette, has started dating a car salesman played by Steve Carell.
VIDEO: A video guide to Sundance 2013
Duncan strikes up a friendship with a man (Sam Rockwell) who runs a dilapidated water park.
The film premiered Monday afternoon to an enthusiastic response.
Fox Searchlight was the studio behind “The Descendants” and also distributed “Little Miss Sunshine,” to which “The Way Way Back” has been compared.
Unconfirmed reports put the sales price at $10 million.
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VIDEO: A video guide to Sundance 2013
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