"Buried": First big Sundance sale

Per the LA Times:

In the first blockbuster sale of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, Lionsgate has bought the claustrophobic thriller "Buried" following an aggressive negotiation Sunday. The studio behind the Sundance hits "Open Water," "Saw" and "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" paid about $3.2 million for the film's North American distribution rights, beating out several other interested distributors, most notably Fox Searclight.

The $3-million movie by Spanish director Rodrigo Cortes screened to a raucous crowd at 11:30 p.m. Saturday and the bidding on the film started in earnest as soon as the sun rose Sunday morning. Joe Drake, Lionsgate's motion picture group president, watched the 94-minute movie back in Los Angeles, after his distribution executives saw the film in its initial Park City at Midnight screening. With Drake's enthusiastic support, the distribution deal was wrapped up quickly.

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The movie unfolds entirely within the confines of a coffin buried somewhere in Iraq. Trapped inside the cramped wooden box is Paul Conroy ("The Proposal's" Ryan Reynolds), a civilian truck driver who has been captured following a roadside bombing of his convoy. His unseen captors are seeking a $5-million ransom, and Conroy has only a mobile phone (with a dying battery) to somehow try to raise the money.

As Conroy calls everywhere seeking help, he is met with answering machines from loved ones, heartless corporate bosses and ineffectual rescuers. Conroy has a cigarette lighter to see around the coffin, which is quickly filling with sand, when not visited by a long snake. As time is running out, Conroy becomes increasingly desperate.

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Working from screenwriter Chris Sparling's original script, "Buried" director Cortes shot the movie in Barcelona, using seven coffins (some with removable sides to accommodate cameras) to shoot the actions. Reynolds says he suffered from countless burns and splinters in making the movie, and did not use a stunt double for the movie's most harrowing scenes.

Early fan boy reaction was positive. Lionsgate did not immediately say when it was releasing the film, but it could be in theaters as early as late spring. With its marketing commitments for the film, Lionsgate's overall deal could reach $10 million.

This has been one of those scripts that Carson at Scriptshadow has been pimping for a long time:

I loooooooooved this script. I loved it for so many reasons I can't count them. First of all, I am always on the lookout for a smart cheap movie idea, something that can be shot with minimal hands, minimal equipment, and minimal funds. You know, a way for you to actually *make* a movie without having to go through that sludge-pit known as the Hollywood "system." I tell anyone who will listen: If you can shoot the movie yourself, do it, because you'll achieve what 98% of screenwriters never will - having a finished film. But don't be fooled into thinking this is easy. I don't care who says anybody can make a film with a camera and a Mac. If you want your movie to look professional, you're going to need somebody who knows how to light, somebody who knows how to shoot, somebody who knows how to dress a set. You're still going to need things that cost money. Therefore, you're extremely limited in the scope of your film. It's why a lot of low-budget films take place in one location. Keeps things cheap.

Congrats to screenwriter Chris Sparling. He's got another original screenplay in development called Mercy: "A thriller centered on a wealthy family with a dying matriarch who want to protect their individual financial interests from one another -- as well as a religious sect."