Amazon Studios continued its free-spending ways in Sundance, acquiring worldwide rights to the comedy “Brittany Runs a Marathon” in a deal worth $14 million.
Writer-director Paul Downs Colaizzo’s comedy, which premiered Monday night in dramatic competition at the Park City, Utah, festival, stars Jillian Bell as an out-of-shape 27-year-old New Yorker who decides to lace up her Converse sneakers and get fit after an alarming visit to a Yelp-recommended doctor from whom she hoped to score an Adderall prescription.
The cast also includes Michaela Watkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rel Howery, Micah Stock and Alice Lee. Matthew Plouffe, Tobey Maguire and Margot Hand produced the film, while executive producers include Colaizzo, Bell and Richard Weinberg.
“Paul has crafted a hilariously rich story populated with vivid characters, anchored by the brilliant Jillian Bell, struggling with relatable issues many face on a daily basis,” Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “Our goal at Amazon Studios, across both TV and film, is to be the best home for talent – in front and behind the camera. The three films we’ve picked up at Sundance speak to that ethos. It’s a mixture of new and established talent we hope to build a future with and continue to produce content for audiences around the world on Amazon Prime Video. Our customers are going to absolutely love these films!”
Colaizzo added, “I could feel Jennifer Salke’s passion for our movie and its characters as soon as she walked in the room. I’m so moved by the boundless love and support she and her colleagues have promised ‘Brittany.’ My heart is full, my mind is blown, and I am going to bed.”
Amazon Studios has made a big impression in Park City this month, led by new head Jennifer Salke and a film team headed by Ted Hope, Bob Berney, Julie Rapaport and Matt Newman.
Amazon also paid an eye-opening $13 million for U.S. rights to the Mindy Kaling-Emma Thompson comedy “Late Night,” then shelled out $14 million for rights to director Scott Z Burns’ fact-based “The Report,” starring Adam Driver, Annette Bening, Jon Hamm, Ted Levin, Maura Tierney and Michael C. Hall.
Deadline first broke the news about the “Brittany Runs a Marathon” deal. Endeavor Content negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.