TORONTO -- Focus Features has nabbed U.S. rights to Derek Cianfrance's gritty drama The Place Beyond the Pines, starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes.
The high-profile title, making its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 7, marks the first major acquisitions deal to come out of the festival. Insiders say Focus paid roughly $2.5 million.
WME and CAA co-repped domestic rights to the film, a multi-generational drama about family and the cycle of violence. Producers are Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Sierra/Affinity, Jamie Patricof, Alex Orlovsky and Lynette Howell.
Place Beyond the Pines attracted plenty of interest, including from The Weinstein Co, which released Cianfrance's Blue Valentine, also starring Gosling, in 2010.
Dealmaking lasted well into Saturday night once Focus made a formal offer.
WME and CAA are co-repping domestic rights to Beyond the Pines, a multi-generational drama about family and the cycle of violence, from producers Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Sierra/Affinity, Jamie Patricof, Alex Orlovsky and Lynette Howell.
Buyers had been offered a chance to bid on Beyond the Pines sight-unseen before Toronto got underway, but many wanted to gauge the film's reviews before stepping into the ring.
