Latest in Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions

EXCLUSIVE: Kellie Madison (The Gate, The Tank) will direct the fourthquel Never Back Down: Revolt from a script by Audrey Arkins (Elyse) for Mandalay Pictures, Wonder Street and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. Production is set to start November 23 in and around London. Never Back Down: Revolt centers on a woman…

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA) has acquired all worldwide rights, excluding the Philippines, to the musical drama Yellow Rose directed by Diane Paragas. This marks Paragas’ narrative feature debut and stars Eva Noblezada’s (Hadestown) as a Filipino teen (Noblezada) from a small Texas town who…

EXCLUSIVE: Following a heated auction, See-Saw’s upcoming Kate Winslet-Saoirse Ronan romance-drama Ammonite has pre-sold to Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions, Lionsgate and Transmission for key international markets. SPWA has taken a slew of international territories including Asia, Italy, LatAm, Middle East…

EXCLUSIVE: XYZ and CAA have inked key pre-sales at AFM on Anna Kendrick sci-fi-thriller Stowaway, including a multi-territory pact with Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. Sony has taken rights in UK/Ire, Australia/NZ, Latin America, Eastern Europe, most of Asia and South Africa. Additional territories sold include…

EXCLUSIVE: Joe Whitmore is joining Sony Pictures Entertainment effective Dec. 10 as Co-Head of Marketing for the studio’s specialty labels, TriStar Pictures, Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. He’ll serve alongside Danielle Misher, who is also Co-Head of Marketing. Both will report to Josh…

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures Worldwide has just taken most international territories to Bo Burnham’s Sundance Film Festival indie feature Eighth Grade, which in the wake of a fantastic Rotten Tomatoes score of 98% certified is being primed for awards season by A24. The Scott Rudin-Eli Bush-produced movie, which marks…

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions President Steve Bersch announced today that, effective June 1, Dan Primozic has been upped to Executive Vice President of Business Affairs for Screen Gems. In a memo to his colleagues, Bersch wrote that Primozic, who currently serves as SVP Business Affairs for SPWA and Affirm…

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions will market and distribute up to four H Collective films per year globally. That comes on the heels of yesterday’s news that Vin Diesel and The H Collective had acquired rights to the xXx franchise from Revolution Studios with Diesel back as Xander Cage in the fourth installment…

EXCLUSIVE: In the biggest deal on the ground at the Sundance Film Festival so far, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions paid $5 million for world rights to Search, an innovative Aneesh Chaganty-directed thriller that stars John Cho and Debra Messing, and turns the computer screen into a cinematic canvas. The film…

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions bought international on Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace. The deal excludes North America. Endeavor Content sold it. Ben Foster and newcomer Harcourt McKenzie star as father and daughter who have chosen to live outside domesticated society in the Oregon woods. They are soon discovered…

In one of the first deals of the Sundance Film Festival, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has acquired international rights to Brett Haley's Hearts Beat Loud after a packed sneak peek screening last night in Park City. The film starring Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons has its world premiere next Friday at the…

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has hired Lakshmi Iyengar as VP Acquisitions from Focus Features and has internally promoted Alexander Zahn with the same title as the company gears up to attend the Toronto Film Festival, which starts September 7. Both will report to Joe Matukewicz, EVP Acquisitions for…