The ninth day of the Sundance Film Festival saw the festival start to wind down with less activity taking place.
Nevertheless, the one-year-old distributor A24 acquired yet another film. This time, A24 took rights to the Dane Dehaan and Audrey Plaza film "Life After Beth." The movie tells the story of a man named Zach who is devastated by the unexpected death of his girlfriend Beth. However, when she mysteriously returns, he gets a second chance at love as his world is upended. Deadline reports that that the deal was made for $3.5 million and that it also included a deal with Direct TV. The film premiered to good reviews and will compete for the US Dramatic Competition.
The deal marks the third buy for A24, which has already acquired Lynn Shelton's "Laggies" starring Keira Knightley, and J. C Chandor's "A Most Violent Year" with Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac.
Meanwhile at the market, Todd Field, director of "Little Children," seems to have found his next project. According to Deadline, the director is slated to helm and write an adaptation of the documentary "The Battered Bastards of Baseball."
The Sundance Film Festival is known for launching the career of many filmmakers. It has also helped small films garner wider audiences with some even getting nominated for the Oscars. Some of the popular Sundance films that have been met with success include "Fruitvale Station," "The Spectacular Now," "Beasts of a Southern Wild," and "Winter's Bone."
The festival ends on Jan. 26 with the announcement of the Grand Prize winner.