WHY IT WILL SELL: Despite the legal controversy that has arisen around the film, this doc about a wealthy couple whose dream of building the biggest house in America is cratered by the economic crisis couldn't be more timely.
Lauren GreenfieldBravo has acquired television rights to The Queen of Versailles, a feature documentary that focuses on a wealthy Florida couple attempting to build the biggest house in the United States.
PHOTOS: The Scene at Sundance Film Festival 2012
Magnolia Pictures bought film rights to the movie shortly its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January; the company is planning a summer theatrical release.
The Lauren Greenfield-directed documentary tells the story of David and Jackie Siegel, who began building the largest home in America before the housing crash put their fortune in jeopardy. Greenfield spent three years with the couple and their family. Greenfield, Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Frank Evers and Dan Cogan produced.
The documentary will premiere in 2013 on Bravo.
“Everyone at Bravo’s intense and passionate response won us over,” said Josh Braun of Submarine, who represented the filmmakers in the deal. “And, of course, the affluent and upscale audience that Bravo enjoys seemed like an ideal fit for Queen of Versailles.”
The Hollywood Reporter‘s review of Queen of Versailles called it “timely but too closely related to much of today’s reality-TV fare,” noting that “the doc will play best on the small screen.”
Greenfield, who won Sundance’s award for documentary directing, said the pairing with Bravo “seems like a perfect match, and there could not be a more interesting audience for this film.”
E-mail: Daniel.Miller@THR.com
Twitter: @DanielNMiller
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