The acquisitions continue to heat up at the Toronto Film Festival, even if the dollar figures remain relatively modest.
The Weinstein Company has bought North American distribution rights to "Submarine," a British comedy by writer-director Richard Ayoade.
TWC paid $1 million for the rights, according to an individual close to the deal, which was lower than other bids, but included a strong marketing commitment.
Three other distribution companies were after the title, and the deal closed at 5 am on Wednesday, including Sony, Fox Searchlight and IFC.
Negotiations went on at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto.
Ayoade is a hot ticket in the British comedy world, and is poised to be a rising presence on this side of the ocean. Ben Stiller flew in to Toronto present the film.
The film, which debuted two nights ago and set bidders running then, is tonally in the vein of cult hits "Little Miss Sunshine" or "Bottle Rocket," two cult hits.
David Glasser, COO of The Weinstein Company, told TheWrap: “Between this picture and Dirty Girl, we felt these were two of the best films in the festival. It’s reminiscent of the kind of pictures that Harvey (Weinstein) markets best, and knows how to find the audience. It’s sweet, it’s funny - this filmmaker is an unbelievable talent.”
The deal was handled by Graham Taylor of WME and international sales agents Protagonist Pictures.
Here's the description from the film festival site:
Fifteen-year-old Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) has two big ambitions: to save his parents’ marriage via carefully plotted intervention and to lose his virginity before his next birthday. Worried that his mom (the always delightful Sally Hawkins) is having an affair with New Age weirdo Graham (Paddy Considine, hilarious here in a comedy hairdo), Oliver monitors his parents’ sex life by charting the dimmer switch in their bedroom. He also forges suggestive love letters from Mom to Dad. His love interest Jordana (a spirited performance by Yasmin Paige) is refreshingly complicated; a self-professed pyromaniac, she supervises Oliver’s journal writing – especially the bits about her. When necessary, she orders him to cross things out.
Ayoade is an actor, comedian, writer and director who studied at the University of Cambridge. His television writing-directing credits include The Mighty Boosh, Man to Man with Dean Learner and Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace. He wrote and directed the short film AD/BC: A Rock Opera (04) and directed 
Arctic Monkeys at the Apollo (08). Submarine (10) is his first feature film.
Meanwhile, Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions announced that they had acquired "The Conspirator," Robert Redford's period drama about a woman charged in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln.
"Conspirator" boasts a mix of heavyweight veterans such as Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, and Tom Wilkinson, and up-and-comers like James McAvoy and Justin Long.
Though the movie had been discussed as a likely Oscar contender, it won't be chasing awards glory -- at least not this year.
