In advance of the film’s world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, AMC Networks has acquired all U.S. rights to Walter Salles' On the Road, the screen adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s classic novel.
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Road will be released jointly by the company’s film distribution labels IFC Films and Sundance Selects theatrically in the late fall.
It’s the fourth time that the two companies have collaborated on a film release, having previously worked together on Olivier Assayas’ Summer Hours, Abbas Kiarostami‘s Certified Copy, Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park and Assayas’ upcoming Something in the Air.
The film, about a cross-country road trip, stars Garrett Hedlund, Sam Riley, Kristen Stewart and Kirsten Dunst and features performances by Amy Adams, Tom Sturridge, Danny Morgan, Alice Braga, Elisabeth Moss and Viggo Mortensen. Jose Rivera (an Oscar nominee for Salles’ The Motorcycle Diaries) wrote the screenplay. The MK2 production was produced by Nathanael Karmitz, Charles Gillibert, Rebecca Yeldham and Roman Coppola for American Zoetrope. Francis Ford Coppola, who has been developing the project since 1978, served as executive producer.
The acquisition deal was negotiated by Arianna Bocco, senior vp of acquisitions and productions for Sundance Selects/IFC Films, with Bart Walker of Cinetic repping the producers.
“Walter Salles has made an ambitious and accomplished film out of Jack Kerouac’s iconic novel. It’s a classic road movie with career-making performances from Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley, and a terrific showcase for Kristen Stewart and Kirsten Dunst,” Josh Sapan, CEO and president of AMC Networks, said.
"This is a major step forward for us, and we plan to work across AMC Networks in putting all our resources together to make this theatrical release into a significant cultural event,” Jonathan Sehring, president of Sundance Selects/IFC Films, added.
