EXCLUSIVE: Fox has acquired Dead Mall, a pitch that will be written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, the duo that shared the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay with Alexander Payne for The Descendants and wrote and directed the Sundance sensation The Way Way Back. Several studios bid on it. The pitch is a…

EXCLUSIVE: Sam Rockwell has been set to star in The Eel, with Roberto Bentivegna directing his script that made the 2012 Black List. Deal occurs as Rockwell zips to Park City for tonight's premiere of the Lynn Shelton-directed Laggies, in which he stars with Chloe Moretz and Keira Knightley, the latter a 28-year old…

The race for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars this year is shaping up to be another impossibly competitive contest. Jared Leto, Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Steve Coogan, Harrison Ford, Geoffrey Rush, Daniel Bruhl, Chris Cooper, Bradley Cooper, Jonah Hill, Casey Affleck, George Clooney and so many others already are…

Brian Brooks is a Deadline contributor. Fox Searchlight‘s The Way, Way Back made a splash as the 4th of July holiday weekend rolled on, opening in 19 theaters Friday and grossing an estimated $572K for hot $30K PSA. Not bad going up against the huge debut of Despicable Me 2 and the left-over blockbusters crowding the…

Brian Brooks is a Deadline contributor. While the masses will head to the likes of Despicable Me 2 and The Lone Ranger this Fourth of July weekend, some who beat to a different drum will seek new specialty films taking a break from the heat and the BBQs. Fox Searchlight is opening The Way, Way Back with Steve Carell…

Almost exactly one year ago, Fox Searchlight released Beasts Of The Southern Wild. The Sundance sensation was significant in many ways, but it also stood out as the only 2012 Best Picture Oscar nominee to have been released in theatres in the definitely NOT Oscar-friendly first half of the year — and coming at the…

The full lineup announced today for the 2013 Los Angeles Film Festival includes Nat Faxon and Jim Rash’s coming-of-age comedic drama The Way Way Back. The spendy Fox Searchlight pic has been tapped to close the fest, which runs June 13-23 downtown. The Film Independent-sponsored event includes gala presentations for…

Anyone who predicts sleeper hits ahead of the summer is either very brave or very spun. But these are the pics expected to emerge through the cracks of tentpole action: All benefit from obvious counterprogramming, festival hype, and demo-targeted storytelling. In chronological order: — IFC's Frances Ha has high…

The Way, Way Back is the coming–of-age story of a 14-year-old introvert who spends a difficult summer vacation with his single mom, her not so warm and fuzzy boyfriend and his daughter. Having a hard time fitting in, the teen finds unlikely friendships with the prickly manager and the misfit workers at a run down…

UPDATE, 10:19 AM: Fox Searchlight confirms that it has closed the deal on The Way, Way Back, saying it’s for just under $10 million. Since I was up all night writing cross-eyed to break the story hours ago, I would rather not repeat myself, so here is the early-morning story again, and I’ll put the official press…

EXCLUSIVE: OddLot Entertainment is partnering with Sycamore Pictures to co-finance The Way, Way Back, the comedic drama written and being directed by Oscar-winning The Descendants co-scribes Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. Production kicked off yesterday in Massachusetts on the film, which stars Steve Carell, Toni Collette…

EXCLUSIVE: Maya Rudolph, Rob Corddry and Amanda Peet have been added to the cast of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash’s comedic drama The Way, Way Back, which begins shooting Monday in Massachusetts. The co-writers, who won the Adapted Screenplay Oscar this year for The Descendants, are making their directorial debut on their…