Solstice Studios has acquired worldwide rights to the Mark Wahlberg drama “Good Joe Bell” for $20 million, an individual with knowledge of the sale told TheWrap.
The film also stars Reid Miller, Connie Britton and Gary Sinise. Solstice aims to release it in theaters for awards season.
“Good Joe Bell,” which made its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, is based on a true story of a man who travels by foot across the country to educate about the dangers of bullying in high school after his gay son experiences abuse from his classmates.
TheWrap’s Steve Pond wrote in his review for “Good Joe Bell” that Wahlberg “gives an effective Everyman performance and that it’s an effective tearjerker, even if it does not have the impact of the screenwriters’ ‘Brokeback Mountain.’”