Bradley Cooper's The Words and Black Rock are two of the most recent sales at Sundance. THR reports that CBS Films has picked up The Words, after a heated bidding war. Director and screenwriter Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal walked away with about $2 million with a $1.5 million P&A commitment. The literary thriller centers on "a hot young author (Cooper) who plagiarizes from a forgotten manuscript." Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana, and Ben Barnes also star in the film. A number of studios dropped out of contention after Klugman and Sternthal demanded a traditional theatrical release over a day-and-date VOD release. What helped seal the deal for CBS, was the "commitment in the awards season" and the back-end deal.
Deadline reports that LD Entertainment has paid around six figures for North American distribution rights to Black Rock, a thriller directed by Katie Aselton and written Mark Duplass. The film stars Kate Bosworth, Lake Bell, and Aselton. Black Rock is reportedly a mix of Deliverance and Thelma and Louise. It's story follows "three female fiiends set aside personal issues and organize a girl getaway weekend on a remote on the coast of Maine. One wrong move turns into a deadly fight for survival." A number of studios were interested in Black Rock, including Gold Circle, Lionsgate, Magnolia and IFC.