RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has taken all U.S. rights to “Dual,” a sci-fi satire about cloning with Karen Gillan and Aaron Paul. The sale is in the low to mid seven-figure range.
“Dual” centers on a terminally ill woman who undergoes a cloning procedure so that her family won’t have to lose her. However, after she makes a miraculous recovery, her attempts to have her clone decommissioned fail and lead to a court-mandated duel to the death. It’s the latest work by Riley Stearns, the director behind the genre-shifting “The Art of Self Defense.”
Reviews were largely positive, with Variety‘s Peter Debruge writing: “Stearns keeps the surprises coming, as ‘Dual’ skillfully operates on (at least) two levels: There’s the superficial thriller plot, which points toward a knock-down, drag-out finale, and there’s the more identity-centric subtext, which delivers a different kind of punch entirely.”
XYZ Films, CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group closed the deal with RLJE Films last night in a competitive bidding situation following the film’s Sundance premiere. XYZ is also handling world rights outside the U.S.
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The film is slated for a theatrical release in 2022. XYZ Films and RLJE Films previously collaborated on the theatrical release of “Mandy,” a horror film starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Panos Cosmatos.
“Dual” co-stars Beulah Koale (“Hawaii Five-O”). Stearns directed and produced alongside XYZ Films and Resolute Films and Entertainment, with Film Service Finland providing production services. The film marks the latest in a partnership with XYZ and Lee Kim and his Resolute Films and Entertainment, which just entered into a first-look deal with XYZ.
“’Dual’ was a film we were targeting from the beginning of the Sundance Film Festival and it exceeded our expectations,” said Mark Ward, RLJE Films’ chief acquisitions officer. “We are happy to be working with our partners at XYZ Films yet again and can’t wait to release the film later this year.”
“Shooting ‘Dual’ with XYZ during a global pandemic will forever be an experience I look back on with a tremendous amount of pride,” said Stearns. “I’m beyond thrilled to enter the next stage of this journey with the team at RLJE Films and I can’t wait for audiences to see a film which we all deeply care for.”
Stearns is repped at CAA and Grandview.
