Bleecker Street has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to “Wild Mountain Thyme,” a lyrical romance that will star Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan playing star-crossed lovers, the distributor announced Monday.
Lionsgate UK has also acquired the U.K. rights to “Wild Mountain Thyme,” which is based on the play “Outside Mullingar” by John Patrick Shanley. Shanley is writing and directing the film that will begin principal photography on Sept. 30 and will shoot on location in Ireland.
Blunt and Dornan star as lovers whose families are caught up in a feud over a hotly contested patch of land that separates their two farms. The film also stars Jon Hamm, Dearbhla Molloy and Christopher Walken. Holliday Grainger was originally attached to star in Blunt’s role.
Here’s the synopsis:
Anthony (Dornan) always seems to be out in the fields working, worn down by his father’s (Walken) constant belittling. But what really stings is his father’s threat to bequeath the family farm to his American cousin Adam (Hamm). Rosemary (Blunt) at first seems to hold a grudge for having been shamed by Anthony in childhood, but the sparks between them would keep a bonfire blazing through the night. Her mother Aoife (Molloy) strives to unite the families before it is too late.
“Wild Mountain Thyme” was developed by Mar-Key Pictures and is produced by Leslie Urdang of Mar-Key, Anthony Bregman of Likely Story, Michael Helfant and Bradley Gallo of Amasia Entertainment, Alex Witchel and Martina Niland of Port Pictures. Andrew Kramer, Jonathan Loughran and Stephen Mallaghan will executive produce. The film is funded by Amasia Entertainment, Aperture Media Partners and Loughran/Mallaghan.
HanWay Films negotiated the deal with Lionsgate UK and has also closed deals with Pathé AG (Switzerland), A Contracorriente (Spain), IDC (Latin America), Madman (Australia and NZ), Nordisk (Scandinavia), NOS Lusomundo (Portugal), Exponenta (CIS, Baltic states), M2 (Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria), Discovery (Ex-Yugoslavia), Frontrow (Middle East), Filmarti (Turkey), SHAW (Singapore) and Cinesky (Airlines, Ships).
CAA Media Finance is handling the U.S. rights and negotiated the deal with Bleecker Street together with Andrew Kramer of Loeb & Loeb.
Blunt is represented by CAA and The Artists Partnership in the U.K., Hamm by CAA, and both Blunt and Hamm are represented by Sloan, Offer, Weber & Dern. Molloy is represented by United Agents in the UK and Principal Entertainment in the US, and Walken is represented by ICM Partners. Dornan is represented by UTA, Troika in the UK and Sloan, Offer, Weber & Dern, and Shanley is represented by CAA and Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Inc.