Toronto 2011: Magnolia Pictures Acquires 'The Hunter' With Willem Dafoe

11:59 AM PDT 9/16/2011 by Gregg Kilday

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Toronto Film Festival

"The Hunter"

Psychological drama directed by Daniel Nettheim is the distributor's third pickup at the festival.

As the Toronto International Film Festival winds to a close, Magnolia Pictures has picked up U.S. rights The Hunter, a psychological drama from Australian that bowed at the fest.

Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Frances O'Connor Starring in 'The Hunter'

The Hunter: Toronto Review

Directed by Daniel Nettheim and written by Alice Addison, adapted from the novel by Julia Leigh, the movie stars Willem Dafoe as a mercenary hired by a bio-tech firm to track down a rare animal in the Tasmanian wilderness. Sam Neill and Frances O’Connor also star. Porchlight Films’ Vincent Sheehan produced.

Magnolia, which is planning a 2012 theatrical through its Ultra VOD program for The Hunter, also picked up Michael Dowse’s Goon and Bob Goldthwait’s God Bless America at this year’s festival.

The deal was negotiated for Magnolia’s SVP of acquisitions Dori Begley, director of acquisitions Peter Van Steemburg and head of legal and business affairs Chris Matson. UTA Independent Film Group and eOne, which is handling sales outside of Australia, negotiated on behalf of the filmmakers.