Back in October, our UK based writer Tom Hunt reviewed a film named Filth that I hadn’t heard about, but after reading his review, I couldn’t wait to see it. The deeply disturbing black comedy stars James McAvoy as a really, really twisted cop and after becoming the second highest grossing R-rated film in the UK and earning a few British Indie film award nominations, Magnolia Pictures decided that it wanted to pick the film up for US distribution, and that it did.
The announcement of the acquisition came yesterday and it should make fans McAvoy and of cool movies very happy. The distributor is aiming for a Spring 2014 release of the film which is based on Irvine Welsh’s novel, the same guy who wrote Trainspotting. Below is the full press release but if you want to get an idea for how disturbed McAvoy’s cop character is you can check out the full UK trailer for it below.
New York, NY (November 26, 2013) – The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnolia Pictures announced today that they have acquired North American rights to FILTH, a pitch black comedy based on the novel by Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting). Golden Globe nominee James McAvoy (X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Last King of Scotland) leads a stellar ensemble cast, including Jamie Bell (Nymphomaniac, Snowpiercer), Imogen Poots (A Late Quartet), Eddie Marsan (“Ray Donovan”), Shirley Henderson (Anna Karenina, Trainspotting) and Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent (Cloud Atlas, The Iron Lady). FILTH was written and directed by Jon S. Baird, who also produced through his Logie Pictures banner with Ken Marshall for Steel Mill Pictures, Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray for Maven Pictures, James McAvoy, Christian Angermayer and Jens Meurer for Film House Germany, Mark Amin and Will Clarke.
FILTH, which ranks as the year’s second highest-grossing R-rated film in the UK, has garnered British Independent Film Award nominations for James McAvoy (Best Actor), Jon S. Baird (Best Director), Shirley Henderson (Best Supporting Actress), Eddie Marsan (Best Supporting Actor) and a nomination for Best Achievement in Production. The Hollywood Reporter’s Stephen Dalton called the film “a hugely entertaining breath of foul air fuelled by McAvoy’s impressively ugly star performance.”
McAvoy plays Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson, a scheming, manipulative, misanthropic man who spends his time indulging in drugs, alcohol, sexually abusive relationships, and “the games” – cruel plots and systematic bullying of his coworkers and friends. While working on the murder case of a Japanese student, he starts coming unhinged, slowly losing his grip on reality and suffering from a series of increasingly severe hallucinations as he desperately tries to hold his life together.
“Very funny and deeply disturbing in all the right ways, FILTH is a wild ride, driven by a performance for the ages from James McAvoy,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “FILTH is going to join the ranks of Trainspotting as a cult classic.”
Producer Ken Marshall states “Magnolia is a brave company that consistently backs original, visionary films. Their passion for FILTH gives us great comfort that they will handle this unique film in the best way possible.”
Said director Jon S. Baird: “Filth at its core is a tragic love story and the darkest of fairytales, but in Bruce Robertson, has the ultimate in anti-heroes.”
The deal was negotiated by Magnolia Director of Acquisitions John Von Thaden, with CAA and UTA on behalf of the filmmakers.
Magnolia is eyeing a theatrical release in the spring of 2014.
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