Tribeca: Anchor Bay Nabs Rights to ‘Mr. Jones’

As the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival kicked off, Anchor Bay Films has struck the first notable acquisition by landing North American rights to Mr. Jones.

The thriller from writer-director Karl Mueller revolves around Scott (Jon Foster) and Penny (Sarah Jones), who move to a remote cabin to escape the pressures of the world and breathe new life into their art. Their sole neighbor for miles is a hermit who only comes out at night under the shroud of darkness. He never acknowledges them, never speaks, never does anything except drag his sculptures deep into the woods, night after night, without rest. As Scott and Penny get deeper into his world, they start to suspect that this man actually is an infamous, reclusive artist known only as “Mr. Jones,” and they’ve stumbled across a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to document his bizarre existence. But when they delve too deeply into Mr. Jones’ existence, everything around them turns in on itself, and their only escape is through the realm of their own nightmares.

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Mr. Jones is produced by Preferred Film & TV’s Ross M. Dinerstein and executive produced by Content’s Jamie Carmichael. Mr. Jones will have its world premiere at Tribeca on April 19.

The film marks Anchor Bay’s third release produced by Dinerstein, having released director Zak Penn’s The Grand and Xavier Gens’ The Divide.

Content is handling worldwide sales and is co-representing North America with Preferred Content.

“We are delighted to be in business again with Preferred Film & TV,” said Kevin Kasha, executive vp acquisitions and co-productions at Anchor Bay Films. “This is a unique and original film that will keep horror fans guessing throughout. Ross has once again demonstrated his talent and passion for producing genre films.”

Added Dinerstein, “We have a great rapport and history with our friends at Anchor Bay and are confident we’ve found a great home for Mr. Jones.”

Email: Tatiana.Siegel@THR.com, Twitter: @TatianaSiegel27

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