EXCLUSIVE: The Sydney Sweeney & Paul Walter Hauser title, Americana, which was one of the prolific acquisition titles from last year’s SXSW, has finally seen its worldwide rights go to Lionsgate.
Why did a movie with big stars and 100% on Rotten Tomatoes take so long to sell? I understand part of the hold-up stems from the pic’s financier, Bron Studios, going into bankruptcy.
The Tony Tost written and directed movie follows local outsiders and outcasts in a small South Dakota town whose lives violently intertwine after a rare artifact falls onto the black market. Americana also stars pop singer Halsey, Eric Dane, Zahn McClarnon, Gavin Maddox Bergman, Simon Rex, Derek Hinkey, Toby Huss, and Harriet Sansom Harris.
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Pic is produced by Alex Saks. EPs are Aaron L. Gilbert, Steven Thibault, Alison-Jane Roney, Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, Terry Dougas, and Jean-Luc de Fanti.
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Said Lauren Bixby, SVP, Acquisitions and Co-Productions for Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group, “Americana is so much fun – at its heart, it’s a modern-day Western-thriller with plenty of visceral action, but it’s always smart, charming, and at times laugh-out-loud funny. We cannot wait to bring it to audiences everywhere.”
Sweeney is back at SXSW this year with the NEON nun horror movie, Immaculate, which is world premiering on Tuesday March 12 at the Paramount Theater. She’s also doing a sitdown chat earlier that day at the fest. In Immaculate, Sweeney plays Cecilia, an American nun of devout faith, embarking on a new journey in a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Her warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.
The deal was brokered by WME Independent.
Tost is represented by WME, Entertainment 360, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.