Mike Fleming

UPDATE, 8:25 AM: As I tipped you yesterday, Paramount’s Adam Goodman and acquisitions exec Matt Brodie and Indian Paintbrush’s Peter McPartlin closed the deal with the UTA team today around 6 AM for the Super Crispy Entertainment production Like Crazy about young love from co-writer and director Drake Doremus (Douchebag). I’m told it was a $4 million minimum guarantee and a “substantial” 7-figure P&A commitment. Adam Goodman, President of Paramount’s Film Group, and Matt Brodlie, SVP of Productions and Acquisitions for Paramount, along with Indian Paintbrush’s President of Production Mark Roybal, negotiated for the rights with the film’s reps Rich Klubeck and David Flynn from UTA, along with producer Jonathan Schwartz and Doremus’ attorney Lawrence Kopeikin from Morris Yorn. Later Goodman said in a statement, “Along with our partners at Indian Paintbrush, we are extremely pleased to be a part of such a great movie, and look forward to working with Drake, Jonathan, Andrea and a tremendous cast of actors.” Starring Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, and Jennifer Lawrence, Like Crazy was written by Doremus and Ben York Jones about a British college student who falls for an American student, only to be separated from him when she’s banned from the U.S. after overstaying her visa. ”

EXCLUSIVE 3:09 AM: Into the wee hours of Sunday, the 2011 Sundance Film Festival was inching close to its first big deal. I’m told that Paramount, teamed with Indian Paintbrush, will close a deal for the Drake Doremus-directed Like Crazy, with Fox Searchlight and Summit also in the mix. Word is that Par/Paintbrush was in the thick of a deal  worth north of $4 million for world rights, with a P&A commitment in the vicinity of $10 million.  Other sources said the latter number is less. Indian Paintbrush is the finance/production company owned by Steven Rales. It’s a strong showing for the UTA-brokered coming of age saga, and for its producers Jonathan Schwartz and Andrea Sperling. It might also unlock other deals that have been log-jammed. As one agent said, “Buyers came here to buy films. So start buying already…”