SUNDANCE: Magnolia Acquires Rob Lowe-Jeremy Piven Thriller 'I Melt With You'

How’s this for a fast turnaround: Director Mark Pellington finished his thriller I Melt With You Friday, screened it for the first time Monday and sold it to Magnolia Pictures by early morning Wednesday. It will have its first public screening Wednesday night at the Eccles Theatre.

Magnolia plunked down mid-to-high six figures with a healthy back-end arrangement.

Rob Lowe, Jeremy Piven, Thomas Jane, Christian McKay, Carla Gugino and Sasha Grey star in the dark story of four longtime friends whose reunion at Big Sur goes haywire, forcing them to face the choices they’ve made after a weekend of excess. Glenn Porter penned the screenplay based on a story by he and Pellington.

Pellington, Norm Reiss and Rob Cowan produced. Aaron L. Gilbert, Neil LaBute and Heidi Levitt served as executive producers.

“Mark Pellington has made a maverick, stylish and powerful film that resonates for days after viewing,” said Magnolia exec Tom Quinn. “Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe, Jeremy Piven and Christian McKay give some of the best performances of their entire careers and attention must be paid.”

Not long after the film’s first press and industry screening, three offers landed on the table and stayed there well into Tuesday night. IFC Films and Anchor Bay both showed serious interest, but other negotiating was curtailed by a tightened deadline that annoyed competing execs who had yet to see the film.

Josh Braun of Submarine and Rena Ronson of UTA co-repped the sale for the filmmakers and negotiated the deal with Quinn. This marks the seventh deal of the festival for the UTA Independent team led by Ronson, Rich Klubeck, David Flynn and Bec Smith.

Pellington was last at Sundance in 2008 with U2 3D and Henry Poole Is Here, and his 1997 debut Going all the Way was in the fest’s dramatic competition.

Earlier in the fest, Magnolia, a division of the Wagner/Cuban Company, partnered with Participant Media to pick up the documentary Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times.