Bleed For This Still - H 2015
Courtesy of Maxine LeonardIn another U.S. buy in Cannes, Open Road Films is closing a $4 million deal for rights to Bleed for This, starring Miles Teller in the real-life story of boxing legend Vinny Pazienza.
CAA and WME showed 12 minutes of director Ben Younger‘s film to distributors in Cannes on Friday, sparking keen interest among several suitors. Open Road emerged the victor and is said to be planning an awards push for the film, potentially putting Teller back in the awards game for the second year in a row after Whiplash.
Pazienza rocketed to fame when he overwhelmed undefeated champion Gilbert Dale in 1991, but his career in the ring was cut short when a near-fatal car accident meant he might never walk again.
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Against doctors’ orders, and with the help of infamous trainer Kevin Rooney (Aaron Eckhart), he was able to make a triumphant return after months of training. The Solution is handling the film internationally, while CAA packaged the project.
Martin Scorsese is executive producing Bleed for This, with Bruce Cohen, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Younger, Chad Verdi and Noah Kraft producing. Myles Nestel and Lisa Wilson are executive producers as is Joshua Sason, principal at Magna Entertainment, which financed the project.
Bleed for This is the second boxing film to garner attention in Cannes. The Weinstein Co. has pre-bought U.S. rights to another boxing drama, Hands of Stone, starring Edgar Ramirez as Panamanian boxer Roberto Duran and Robert De Niro as his trainer.
Completely off the topic of boxing, Harvey Weinstein‘s shop also paid $6 million for Three Generations, the upcoming transgender drama starring Naomi Watts, Hailee Steinfeld and Susan Sarandon.
May 21, 12:45 a.m. Updated to add another executive producer credit and add information about Magna.
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