Row K acquires US and Canada rights to Dead Man's Wire

Row K Entertainment has acquired U.S. and Canadian distribution rights to Gus Van Sant's Dead Mans Wire, securing the fledgling distributor's inaugural release after the film made its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday. The deal, struck at TIFF this week, was announced as the company prepares to roll out the true-crime drama before the end of the year.

Industry estimates of the purchase price varied. Sources described the deal as being in the midseven figures, with one estimate around $4 million. The acquisition was negotiated on behalf of the filmmakers by Cassian Elwes of Elevated Films and Paula Paizes and Sam Pressman of Pressman Film, with WME Independent handling worldwide rights, according to statements from the parties.

Dead Mans Wire, directed by Van Sant from a script by Austin Kolodney, dramatizes the 1977 kidnapping of Tony Kiritsis, an Indianapolis man whose hostage-taking of a mortgage broker turned him into an outlaw folk figure. The film stars Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Cary Elwes, Myhala, Colman Domingo and Al Pacino, and lists Cassian Elwes, Mark Akim and Sam Pressman among its producers. The film premiered last...