Updated at 6 pm PT:
In an unusually busy deal-making Saturday, Magnolia has also acquired Julie Delpy’s “2 Days In New York,” the director-actress's follow-up to “2 Days in Paris."
Starring Delpy and with Chris Rock playing the straight man, the pair play a Manhattanite couple with two kids who have to endure a two-day visit from relatives that will test their relationship.
Delpy's father is played by her real-life father. Other characters include her oversexed sister and her sister’s outrageous boyfriend.
Magnolia will release the film through its Ultra VOD program later this year, with a "robust theatrical release" in major markets, the company said.
Earlier:
In a pair of final-weekend Sun
dance deals, the ensemble drama "Nobody Walks" and the controversial "Compliance" have been acquired by Magnolia Pictures.
Magnolia acquired North American rights to Ry Russo-Young's "Nobody Walks," which stars John Krasinski and Olivia Thirlby and was written by Russo-Young and Lena Dunham. The film was produced by Jonathan Schwartz and Andrea Sperling, the producers of last year's Sundance Grand Jury prize winner "Like Crazy."
Also read: Sundance Deals: Participant Media Nabs 'Middle of Nowhere'
Magnolia plans to release the film in its Ultra VOD program, combined with what the company says is a "robust theatrical release in all major markets." A deal for worldwide rights was also close to completion.
Its other acquisitiion, "Compliance," (pictured) by writer-director Craig Zobel, is based on a true story about a fast-food restaurant employee who subjected a fellow employee to increasingly brutal treatment at the urging of a telephone caller who purported to be a police officer. The film starring Ann Dowd and Dreama Walker drew scattered boos at its first Sundance screening and prompted an angry, divisive and uncomfortable Q&A.
Also read: Sundance Deals: 'Simon Killer' Acquired by IFC Films
Craig Zobel, from Atlanta, earned a filmmaking degree from North Carolina School of the Arts. He coproduced David Gordon Green’s debut, "George Washington." Zobel was awarded the Breakthrough Director award at the 2008 Gotham Awards for The Great World of Sound—his first feature, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. It was among the National Board of Review's top 10 independent films in 2007 and was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards.
Magnolia plans a full theatrical release for the film.
Earlier in the festival, Magnolia purchased the opening-night documentary "Queen of Versailles" and the horror anthology "V/H/S."