'Blindspotting' Bidding War: Neon, The Orchard, CBS Films Chase Racial Drama

Sundance Film Festival

Three distributors — Neon, The Orchard and CBS Films — are aggressively courting the buzzy, race-themed Sundance drama “Blindspotting,” multiple individuals told TheWrap.

MoviePass, the moviegoing subscription service that announced plans to acquire films at the festival, is also seeking a co-release with whoever ends up buying the film, one individual close to the negotiations said.

Carlos Lopez Estrada directed the buddy story starring Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, who also c0-wrote the screenplay. The film tells the story of two friends in Oakland, facing probation, police violence and the pressure of hipster tech gentrification. The film opened the festival on Thursday and has been generating buzz ever since. The festival has produced very few sales thus far, the most notable being Keira Knightley’s “Collette.”

Also Read: 'Blindspotting' Film Review: Ambitious Oakland Tale Suffers from Too Many Ideas

The co-release would seek an opening date tied to the mid-term elections in November, according to the insider, to capitalize on the timely themes of race and class in the film. Another insider told TheWrap that sales agent WME got numerous calls after “Sorry to Bother You” screened at the festival on Saturday night. Distributors wanted to see both films before deciding which was a better fit. The insider also said the negotiations are going to go slow while they hear out the marketing and distribution plans of each player.

Also Read: Keira Knightley's 'Colette' Sells to Bleecker Street and 30West

Neon’s position in the bidding is not as strong as The Orchard’s or CBS Films’, said another individual, who added they may have bowed out in face of the competition.

From the review: The film opens with Collin (Diggs) being released from prison on probation; he has to live in a halfway house for a year, remaining employed and obeying a curfew, after which time he will be fully released. Jump ahead eleven months and 27 days to the last 72 hours of his probation, as he’s trying to get out of a car where his lifelong friend Miles (Casal) is buying a gun. It’s a hilarious scene, one that’s as much about their local burger joint going vegan-umami as it is about firearms.

“Blindspotting” was produced by Snoot Entertainment.

MoviePass and WME had no comment. TheWrap also reached out to CBS Films, The Orchard and Neon. None immediately responded.

13 Hottest Sundance Movies for Sale: From Ax Murderers to Notorious 'RBG' (Photos)

Park City, Utah, is about to be flush with cash -- and we're not talking about buying apres-ski gear. Here are the most promising sales titles of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
"Tyrel"

After his stunning performance in "Mudbound," Jason Mitchell is back in this drama alongside Caleb Landry Jones, Michael Cera and Ann Dowd. Buyers should go crazy for the film about a guy who goes on a weekend birthday trip to a cabin -- but he's the only black guy on the retreat.

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"Lizzie"

There's much interest in "Lizzie," which chronicles the life of Lizzie Borden, who was tried and acquitted for the 1892 ax murders of her father and stepmother. Chloe Sevigny, Kristen Stewart and Denis O'Hare star.
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"Burden"

Garrett Hedlund also gave a stellar performance in "Mudbound," playing the son of a man associated with the Ku Klux Klan. In "Burden," Hedlund is a repo man rising through the ranks of the KKK, but everything changes when he falls for a woman (Andrea Riseborough). The additional cast of Forest Whitaker and Usher should entice buyers.
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"The Miseducation of Cameron Post"

Chloe Grace Moretz stars as a high school teenager who gets caught in the backseat of her car with another girl. She's quickly shipped off for conversion therapy, where she for the first time feels like she can find her place among fellow outcasts. The strong themes of pain and loss while finding yourself and your identity should make it a hot title -- after all, it's based on Emily Danforth's acclaimed novel as well.
Sundance
"Juliet, Naked"

Perhaps one of the most anticipated films on the Sundance schedule, "Juliet, Naked" is an adaptation of Nick Hornby's best-selling novel. Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O'Dowd star in this comedic drama about a woman who is in a transatlantic romance with a once-revered musician.
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"RBG"

What better time to release a documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
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"Piercing"

Based on Ryu Murakami's critically acclaimed novel, this steamy yet bloody thriller will get Midnight audiences' --- and buyers' -- heart rate up.
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"A Kid Like Jake"

Director Silas Howard is debuting his film "A Kid Like Jake," featuring an ensemble that includes Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, Octavia Spencer, Priyanka Chopra, Ann Dowd and Amy Landecker. Howard, who's directed boundary-pushing TV series like "This Is Us" and "Transparent," here focuses on parents whose young son prefers princesses to action figures.
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"The Happy Prince"

Rupert Everett's directorial debut details the final three years of Oscar Wilde's life. Colin Firth and Emily Watson round out the cast of this period film.
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"American Animals"

There will never be enough heist films in the world, and the cast of "American Animals," which includes Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan and Blake Jenner, promises to pull off one of the biggest art thefts in recent history. Plus, it's a true story.
Sundance
"Ophelia"

"Ophelia" retells Shakespeare's "Hamlet" from the point of view of the melancholy Danish prince's presumed future wife -- played by Daisy Ridley, hot off "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and "Murder on the Orient Express." Naomi Watts and Clive Owen round out the cast.
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"Sorry to Bother You"

This film boasts one of the most impressive casts of any film heading to the festival, and that won't be lost on buyers: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun and Armie Hammer star in the original comedy.
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"Wildlife"

Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan star in Paul Dano's directorial debut, about a couple in a foundering marriage in small-town Montana in the 1960s.
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Sundance 2018: Streaming companies and indie distributors will battle it out for these movies

Park City, Utah, is about to be flush with cash -- and we're not talking about buying apres-ski gear. Here are the most promising sales titles of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

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