The Wagner/Cuban Companies' Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American theatrical rights to "Countdown to Zero" from Participant Media, the company announced on Friday. The global arms crisis documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last month.
In addition, Participant announced that the History Channel has acquired the US television broadcast rights to the film. The deal was negotiated on behalf of the filmmakers by Josh Braun and Jason Janego of Submarine and Jeff Ivers, COO of Participant Media with Senior Vice President Tom Quinn and Vice President of Acquisitions Dori Begley for Magnolia and with Peter Gaffney for the History Channel.
Written and directed by acclaimed documentarian Lucy Walker ("The Devil’s Playground"), the film features interviews with Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pervez Musharraf and Tony Blair.
“Lucy Walker’s 'Countdown to Zero' is a tremendous achievement,” said Magnolia Pictures President Eamonn Bowles. “It’s beautifully composed and powerfully compelling. Above all it has an incredibly important message that the world needs to hear—sooner rather than later.”
