Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired the worldwide rights to the documentary “Prescription Thugs,” a chronicle of the legal prescription drug business in America, the company announced Wednesday.
Chris Bell, whose 2008 doc “Bigger Stronger Faster” looked at competition bodybuilding, co-directed the film with Josh Alexander and Greg Young; Alexander also scripted, while Young edited. The film is executive produced by Vince Vaughn, Joel Cheatwood and Peter Billingsley, and premiered at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.
In “Prescription Thugs,” Bell sets out to investigate pharmaceutical companies and doctors, and how they differ from back-alley drug lords, after witnessing the effects of prescription-drug addiction on friends and relatives. However, as Bell learns more about the industry, he succumbs to addiction himself, adding a sense of intimacy to the exposé.
“I could not be happier that Samuel Goldwyn Films will be distributing ‘Prescription Thugs,’ enabling our story to reach a broad and diverse audience,” Bell said in a statement. “This film is an icebreaker for people to open up about their addictions and start conversations that affect change. Samuel Goldwyn Films has shown in the past their commitment to films that can shock, entertain and create a discussion, and that is exactly what we hope this film will do.”
The deal was negotiated by Ian Puente, VP and general counsel of Samuel Goldwyn Films, and by producer Daniel J. Chalfen and attorney Evan Krauss of Gray Krass Stratford Sandler Des Rochers LLP.