• Waitress sold to Peter Rice’s Fox Searchlight. Studio puts price at $4 million worldwide (but I heard $5 mil). Starring Keri Russell, written and directed by the late Adrienne Shelley. Searchlight outbid Miramax, Focus among other distribs for this sweet pic.
  • Fox Searchlight also shelled out $4 mil for worldwide rights to Manhattan-set modern horror story about a well-to-do family from George Ratliff, Joshua.
  • Clubland, called a dramedy, sold to Warner Independent Pictures president for $4 mil for U.S., Canadian, UK and German rights. Stars Brenda Blethyn, directed by Cherie Nowlan and written by Keith Thompson.
  • In the Shadow of the Moon documentary by David Sington sold to ThinkFilm which edged out WIP and others with bid for $2 mil. That includes all North American rights except TV. Doc uses rarely seen NASA footage from Apollo mission and is said to have James Cameron-like cool special effects.
  • Magnolia Pictures coughed up mid-six figures for documentary Crazy Love from PR bigwig Dan Klores (photo, right) for all rights excluding TV. Pic is about a famous acid-throwing incident involving a woman and a spurned lover who then married when he was released from prison. The couple even made a Sundance appearance.
  • There was a rumor that the very violent Weapons from Adam Bhala Lough about a gun-toting youth culture and its brutal senseless killings sold to Sony. But maybe not.
  • Teen horror Teeth, marking Mitchell Lichtenstein’s coming-of-age feature debut about a virgin with labial incisors, sold to Lionsgate and The Weinstein Co. on Sunday for $1 mil.
  • My Kid Could Paint That, a child prodigy documentary, sold to Sony Classics cusack.jpgfor $2 mil. TV rights already snapped up by Discovery and A&E before sale.
  • Grace Is Gone sold to The Weinstein Company for $4 million worldwide after hard-fought seven hours of bidding that didn’t end until 5 a.m. Starring John Cusack (photo, left, who sat through most of the negotiating), written and directed by first-timer James Strouse about a father whose wife is killed in Iraq.

    • Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.

    Get the latest Industry news sent straight to your Wall.