Mike Fleming

Culver City, Ca (January 20, 2011) – Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA) announced today that it has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to Morgan Spurlock’s The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, a playful yet thought provoking documentary examining the world of product placement, marketing and advertising through a film financed entirely by product placement, marketing and advertising.  Sony Pictures Classics will open the film in North America this April.  The announcement was made today by SPWA President Steve Bersch. Directed by Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me), The Greatest Movie Ever Sold was written by Spurlock and Jeremy Chilnick, and produced by Spurlock, Chilnick and Abbie Hurewitz through Spurlock’s production company, Warrior Poets, alongside Snoot Entertainment producers Keith Calder and Jessica Wu. The deal was made by SPWA’s Scott Shooman and Michael Helfand with CAA. The film is scheduled to premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

From the billboards in Times Square to the barren streets of São Paulo, acclaimed documentarian Morgan Spurlock shines a light on the world of product placement, marketing and advertising through his new film, fully financed by the very product placement the movie explores on screen.  With humor and insight, Spurlock unmasks the marketing process, bringing audiences directly into the pitch meetings and marketing presentations which inform our everyday entertainment decisions.  From small, family-owned operations to multi-million dollar global brands, Spurlock uses his integrity as currency to sell out to the highest bidder, and garners the kind of large-scale marketing support and promotions customarily reserved for studio blockbusters in an effort to create a first – a “docbuster.”

“We are thrilled to continue Sony’s longstanding relationship with Morgan.  He has made an extremely creative and original movie which we think audiences will really embrace,” says Steve Bersch, President, SPWA.

“Sony Pictures is the greatest distributor a film could have.  It’s a dream come true to work with Steve, Tom and Michael on this movie,” noted Spurlock.  “Together, I think we’re going to break new ground.”