Toronto: Focus Features Lands Neil Jordan’s ‘Greta’

By Brent Lang

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Focus Features has closed a deal for rights to Neil Jordan’s “Greta” following the thriller’s premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

The film stars Chloe Grace Moretz and Isabelle Huppert and is described as a film about female obsession. Several companies were interested in “Greta” and bidding became intense. With the deal in place, Focus will now control rights for the film in North America, Australia and China. Universal, Focus’s parent company, already has a deal for the U.K.

“Greta” isn’t the only title eliciting lots of interest from buyers. Potential bidders have been told that “Teen Spirit,” the directing debut of actor Max Minghella, is close to landing a deal. There’s a rumor that the film about a pop star will go for roughly $3 million.

Reviews for “Greta” were largely positive, with critics praising the picture as pulpy fun.

“This campy B-movie curiosity should have been programmed in the Midnight Madness, instead hiding in the Special Presentations section where it’s billed as a “nerve-rattling thriller,” wrote IndieWire’s Kate Erbland. “It’s that, sure, but it’s also hearty fun, a ‘bad’ movie that’s made suddenly good by the involvement of a game audience and Jordan allowing Huppert to go certifiably batshit on a doe-eyed Moretz.”

The movie could be a return to form for Jordan, who hasn’t really connected with moviegoers since 2005’s “Breakfast on Pluto.” He’s spent the ensuing decade primarily working on television shows such as Showtime’s “The Borgias.” Other Jordan films include “The Crying Game,” “The Butcher Boy,” and “Mona Lisa.”

The pact for “Greta” closed early on Saturday morning after an intense all-night bidding battle. CAA Media Finance and Endeavor Content were representing the filmmakers.