Magnolia Pictures nabs Sundance comedy “Entertainment”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American distribution rights to the dark comedy “Entertainment,” Variety has learned.

The film, directed by Rick Alverson (who previously made 2012’s “The Comedy”), follows an aging comedian (Gregg Turkington) as he performs at a string of underwhelming venues starting in Bakersfield, Calif. The trek unfolds with a supporting cast of John C. Reilly, Michael Cera, Tye Sheridan and Amy Seimetz.

“Entertainment” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and later screened at SXSW and as the closing night of New Directors/New Films, to good reviews. As Scott Foundas, Variety’s chief film critic, wrote earlier this year: “Alverson’s fourth feature is singular stuff, and it reconfirms the director as one of the true bold voice in the all-too-homogenous U.S. indie film scene … ‘Entertainment’ should have no trouble finding a fervent cult to call its own.”

The producers on the film are Ryan Zacarias, Ryan Lough, George Rush, Brooke Bernard, Rick Alverson, Patrick Hibler and Alex Lipschultz.

The deal was negotiated by Magnolia’s acquisitions team of Dori Begley and John Von Thaden and Cinetic Media, which represents the filmmakers.