sundance report

My Idiot Brother Becomes Sundance’s Big Buy

The Paul Rudd comedy My Idiot Brother — which boasts an appealing supporting cast (Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones) and an upbeat, crowd-pleasing sense of humor — came into Sundance with a lot of expectations for a big buy, and now it’s fulfilled them: The Weinstein Company picked it up for almost $7 million yesterday and is pledging a wide release with $15 million devoted to marketing. Meanwhile, two other Sundance movies experienced very different pickups: The high-school movie Homework sold to Fox Searchlight, while the quirky Hesher — which was last year’s big buzz film until it actually screened — was finally acquired by Wrekin Hill Entertainment, which is planning an April debut to capitalize on co-star Natalie Portman’s Oscar momentum and sudden ubiquity. [Deadline, Carpetbagger/NYT]

My Idiot Brother Becomes Sundance’s Big Buy