Toronto Deals: A24 nabs 'High Life' from director Claire Denis & NEON acquires Brady Corbet's 'Vox Lux'
This will be a rather short post, but I wanted to provide a quick update on what studios managed to snag some of the major acquisition titles at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. Last night, Deadline revealed that A24 has nabbed the U.S. distribution rights to High Life, the surreal and strange new sci-fi project from French director Claire Denis. The film doubles as Denis' English-language debut, and it has a terrific cast, led by Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, André Benjamin, and Suspiria star Mia Goth. After its Sunday premiere at TIFF, High Life was instantly billed as a divisive and uncomfortable psychosexual journey into the depths of space, prompting walk-outs from unsuspecting festival-goers and praise from thrilled critics.
The film is sure to garner quite a bit of attention upon its U.S. release, especially considering the strength of the Pattinson fandom. And to put it simply, A24, the studio behind Oscar features like Moonlight and creepy horror shows like Hereditary, is a natural fit for an ambitious outing like this. Deadline reports that A24 will give this film a traditional theatrical release, presumably in 2019. After all, I'm not putting my money on this as an Oscar contender.
Now, let's turn our attention to one of the hottest titles on this year's circuit thus far- Brady Corbet's Vox Lux. The portrait of a tortured pop star made its World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and it has been generating discussions and debates ever since. The film supposedly tackles everything from school shootings to 21st century fame to the depravity of modernity, and critics have responded accordingly (to sum it up, Vox Lux holds an 88 on Metacritic). Much of the praise has been reserved for Natalie Portman's performance as pop star Celeste, which could land her in the Oscar race once again.
At least NEON thinks so. According to Deadline, the rapidly developing indie distributor has acquired the rights to Vox Lux, and they're reportedly set to give the unconventional tale an awards qualifying run in 2018.
Considering that many suspected NEON would go after this film, this was no surprise. But many questions remain. Can Portman earn another nomination for her turn here, possibly leading the way in the Best Supporting Actress category? Will the film gain serious traction within the Academy? It's far too early to say, but I'm eager to see this one for myself.
NEON confirmed the news, eventually sending a press release to Deadline. The studio has also acquired The Biggest Little Farm and Wild Rose at TIFF, so they'll have plenty on their hands over the next few months.
Look for more on High Life and Vox Lux soon.
Images: IMDb, TIFF
The film is sure to garner quite a bit of attention upon its U.S. release, especially considering the strength of the Pattinson fandom. And to put it simply, A24, the studio behind Oscar features like Moonlight and creepy horror shows like Hereditary, is a natural fit for an ambitious outing like this. Deadline reports that A24 will give this film a traditional theatrical release, presumably in 2019. After all, I'm not putting my money on this as an Oscar contender.
Now, let's turn our attention to one of the hottest titles on this year's circuit thus far- Brady Corbet's Vox Lux. The portrait of a tortured pop star made its World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and it has been generating discussions and debates ever since. The film supposedly tackles everything from school shootings to 21st century fame to the depravity of modernity, and critics have responded accordingly (to sum it up, Vox Lux holds an 88 on Metacritic). Much of the praise has been reserved for Natalie Portman's performance as pop star Celeste, which could land her in the Oscar race once again.
At least NEON thinks so. According to Deadline, the rapidly developing indie distributor has acquired the rights to Vox Lux, and they're reportedly set to give the unconventional tale an awards qualifying run in 2018.
Considering that many suspected NEON would go after this film, this was no surprise. But many questions remain. Can Portman earn another nomination for her turn here, possibly leading the way in the Best Supporting Actress category? Will the film gain serious traction within the Academy? It's far too early to say, but I'm eager to see this one for myself.
NEON confirmed the news, eventually sending a press release to Deadline. The studio has also acquired The Biggest Little Farm and Wild Rose at TIFF, so they'll have plenty on their hands over the next few months.
Look for more on High Life and Vox Lux soon.
Images: IMDb, TIFF
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