Searchlight Lands Jesse Eisenberg-Directed Topic & Fruit Tree-Produced’ A Real Pain’ In First Big Sundance $10M WW Deal; ‘Succession’s Kieran Culkin Stars In Poland Road Trip Pic
21.01.2024 - 18:25
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: The dealmaking has begun. Searchlight Pictures closed the first major deal on the ground at the Sundance Film Festival — $10 million for WW rights for A Real Pain, directed and written by Jesse Eisenberg. He stars with freshly minted Emmy winning Succession star Kieran Culkin as mismatched cousins David and Benji. They reunite for a tour of Poland to honor their grandmother, but older tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family’s history. The film will get a big theatrical release later this year.
Pic also stars Jennifer Grey, Will Sharpe, Kurt Egyiawan (Beasts of No Nation), Liza Sadovy (“A Small Light”), and Daniel Oreskes (Only Murders in the Building). and it’s produced by Topic and Fruit Tree, with Ali Herting, Dave McCary, Ewa Puszczynska, Jennifer Semler, Eisenberg and Emma Stone all producing. The film, playing in the US Dramatic Competition, has been a buzz title coming in and bidding buzz has mounted since its premiere yesterday at Eccles.
Deal was brokered by CAA Media Finance and WME. It was a proper all-nighter auction, a throwback to years past in Sundance. Numerous bidders were in the mix. Searchlight execs Paul Hoffman and Chan Phung brokered the deal.
“We are blown away by Jesse’s vision and craft in telling this hilarious and profound film,” said Searchlight Presidents Matthew Greenfield and David Greenbaum. “He tells a deeply personal story and makes it universal. We can’t wait to bring it to audiences around the world.”
Eisenberg added, “MakingA Real Pain was a true labor of love, and it has been so thrilling to premiere at Sundance. I couldn’t be more honored to work with Searchlight and to bring this story to a wider audience.”
“We could not be more proud of Jesse and this