Magnolia Pictures Acquires 'Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie'

Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie, a documentary about the controversial talk show host, who’s been dubbed the “father of trash television.”

The film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, is directed by Ironbound Films’ Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller and Jeremy Newberger. The distributor is planning a theatrical release in the first quarter of 2013.

“Evocateur is an incredibly entertaining documentary,” Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles said. “While we tend to think that everything has gotten so extreme in this age of reality television, it’s shocking to see how The Morton Downey Jr. Show makes everything today pale in comparison. The filmmakers have done a great job capturing that.”

The deal was negotiated by Magnolia senior vp of acquisitions Dori Begley with Josh Braun of Submarine.