This year’s Sundance Film Festival is almost over, and the two biggest complaints have been about both the lack of a movie that stands out as a major awards contender and the slow pace of deal-making.
Now some deals at least have started to go through with NEON (I, Tonya) making two acquisitions, including the first high profile one of the fest with Assassination Nation. The company reportedly spent over $10 million for worldwide rights to it, and has given a wide release commitment to the Sam Levinson-directed project.
Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, Hari Nef, Abra, Bill Skarsgard, and Bella Thorne star in the film about a social media savvy high school senior and her friends who observe the results of what happens when a provocateur starts posting details from the private digital lives of everyone in their small town.
The company also bought Marcus Green’s police shooting drama Monsters and Men which stars Anthony Ramos, Jasmine Cephas Jones, John David Washington, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Nicole Beharie, Rob Morgan, and Cara Buono. The story takes place in Brooklyn where an unarmed black man is killed after an altercation with police officers, leading to a nuanced investigation into a tight-knit neighborhood.
