New York, NY December 5, 2011 – IFC Films announced today that the company is acquiring North American rights to director Bruce Beresford’s dramatic comedy PEACE, LOVE & MISUNDERSTANDING. The film, with a screenplay by Christina Mengert and Joseph Muszynski, boasts an all-star cast headlined by Academy Award® winner Jane Fonda, two-time Academy Award® nominee Catherine Keener, Kyle MacLachlan, Elizabeth Olsen, Chace Crawford, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Rosanna Arquette and Nat Wolff. BCDF Pictures’ Brice Dal Farra, Claude Dal Farra, Lauren Munsch, and Jonathan Burkhart served as producers on the project, with co-writers Mengert and Muszynski also executive producing.
Fonda makes a triumphant return to the screen working with Australian film veteran Beresford (DRIVING MISS DAISY, TENDER MERCIES, MAO’S LAST DANCER). Together with a wonderful cast, they deliver a heartfelt and funny comedy about reunion and second chances. Diane is a conservative lawyer (Keener) who, after splitting with her husband, takes her two teenage children, Zoe (Olsen) and Jake (Wolff) to meet their estranged, eccentric grandmother Grace (Fonda), the epitome of the term “free spirit” who lives in Woodstock, NY. Her personality was always so immense Diane felt there was rarely any room for anyone else. The film playfully depicts a string of new beginnings founded in letting go of the past. Diane isn’t sure what she came to Woodstock for, but what she finds is an open offer of motherly solace, the chance to bond with her children and perhaps the opportunity to open her heart to someone new. She meets a carpenter/singer/songwriter named Jude (Morgan). He’s handsome, generous, impulsive, and really corny. He also clearly adores her. But is Diane ready for romance? Meanwhile her daughter also meets a local (Crawford) who she connects with.
Jonathan Sehring, President of Sundance Selects/IFC Films, said: “We fell in love with this film in Toronto and couldn’t be more excited to be working with one of the world’s greatest filmmakers Bruce Beresford and his amazing cast. PEACE, LOVE AND MISUNDERSTANDING will delight audiences across the country who will be elated to see Jane Fonda give her best and juiciest performance in decades. It’s one everyone will be talking about next awards season.”
In a joint statement, BCDF Pictures said "Following the film’s premiere in Toronto we have been impressed with the team at IFC and their grasp of the movie’s market potential. They have a fantastic strategy for its distribution and a strong passion for the film as a whole. We are extremely pleased to be working with IFC on its release.”
The deal for the film was negotiated by Arianna Bocco, SVP of Acquisitions & Productions for Sundance Selects/IFC Films with CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.
IFC Films is a sister division to IFC Midnight and Sundance Selects, and is owned and operated by AMC Networks, Inc.
About IFC FILMS
Established in 2000 and based in New York City, IFC Films is a leading U.S. distributor of quality talent-driven independent film. Its unique distribution model makes independent films available to a national audience by releasing them in theaters as well as on cable’s Video On Demand (VOD) platform, reaching nearly 50 million homes. Some of the company’s successes over the years have included My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Touching the Void, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Gomorrah, Che, Summer Hours, Antichrist, In the Loop, Antichrist, Wordplay, Cairo Time, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Tiny Furniture and Carlos. Over the years, IFC Films has worked with established and breakout auteurs, including Steven Soderbergh, Gus Van Sant, Spike Lee, Richard Linklater, Miranda July, Lars Von Trier, Gaspar Noe, Todd Solondz, Cristian Mungiu, Susanne Bier, Olivier Assayas, Jim McKay, Larry Fessenden, Gregg Araki, Jacques Rivette, Claude Chabrol, as well as more recent breakouts such as Andrea Arnold, Mia Hansen Love, Corneliu Porombiou, Joe Swanberg, Barry Jenkins, Lena Dunham, Aaron Katz, Daryl Wein and Abdellatif Kechiche. IFC Films is a sister division to Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight, and is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc.