Focus World, the alternative distribution initiative owned and operated by Focus Features, has acquired U.S. and U.K. rights to Cop Car out of Sundance where the film premiered in the Park City At Midnight section. Cop Car was directed by Jon Watts and stars Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Shea Whigham and Camryn Manheim. Co-written by Watts and Christopher D. Ford, the film was produced by Cody Ryder, Alicia Van Couvering, Sam Bisbee, Andrew Kortschak and Watts. Focus World is planning a simultaneous theatrical and VOD release of the film but has not yet set a date. In the U.K., the film will be distributed via UPHE Content Group.
Cop Car embarks on a harrowing crash course full of mayhem as a pair of 10-year-old boys attempt to navigate the back roads behind the wheel of a seemingly abandoned police car that they have no clue how to operate. Blissfully unaware of the impending doom they face at every turn, things go from bad to worse when the corrupt small-town sheriff aims to get his car back at all costs. The kids find themselves in the center of a deadly game of cat and mouse that they don’t understand, and the only way out is to drive as fast as their cop car will take them.
Cop Car was produced by Park Pictures Features, Audax Films and Dark Arts. Exec producers are Walter Kortschak, Lance Acord, Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Frank Brenner, Bill Perry, Tom Valerio and Kevin Bacon. Co-producers are Theodora Dunlap, Michaela McKee and Isabel Siskin.
The distribution deal was negotiated by Beth Lemberger, Focus Features’ exec VP of business affairs, and Anjay Nagpal, sr. VP of Focus World, on behalf of the studio, and CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More