Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA) has snapped up the rights in key territories to Greek-Irish co-production ‘The Lobster’. Territories included in the deal are Australia, New Zealand, German-speaking Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America among others. The film is directed by Giorgos Lanthimos, the Oscar-nominated director of ‘Alps’ and ‘Dogtooth’.
The cast of the film includes Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, Ben Whishaw, Léa Seydoux, Olivia Colman, Ariane Labed, Angeliki Papoulia, Ashley Jensen, Michael Smiley and Jessica Barden. The feature has been shooting in Ireland since the end of March with locations so far including Kerry and Dublin. Principal photography wrapped last weekend.
The comedic love story is set in the future where single people are arrested and brought to ‘The Hotel’. Once there, they are obliged to find a mate in 45 days, otherwise, they will be transformed into an animal of their choosing and released into ‘The Woods’. A desperate man, struggling to find a woman with whom he has something in common, escapes only to find love in an unlikely mate.
Lanthimos co-wrote the film with long-time collaborator Efthimis Filippou. Producers on the film are Lee Magiday, Ed Guiney, Ceci Dempsey and Lanthimos, with Element’s Andrew Lowe and Film4’s Tessa Ross and Sam Lavender acting as executive producers.
Production companies attached are Element Pictures, Limp and Scarlet Films, and financiers are Film4, the Irish Film Board, the BFI Film Fund, Eurimages, Greek Film Centre, CNC, the Dutch Film Fund and Canal+. Co-producers are Faliro House, Haut et Court and Lemming Film.
The deal for ‘The Lobster’ was negotiated between Michael Helfand, EVP of business affairs, and Joe Matukewicz, SVP of acquisitions for SPWA and Protagonist CEO Mike Goodridge.
