Matt Saville’s thriller Felony, which stars Joel Edgerton, Tom Wilkinson, Jai Courtney and Melissa George, will get a cinema release in the US via a new distributor.
Gravitas Theatrical, which plans to release a dozen films a year, has been launched by Gravitas Ventures, founded by Nolan Gallagher in 2006 to distribute independent films across multiple platforms, focusing on VOD.
The release date hasn’t been revealed but it will be in the late northern summer. Roadshow has dated the film for August 28.
Dustin Smith has been hired as VP of Theatrical Distribution after nearly a decade at Roadside Attractions where he oversaw the acquisition and release of Winter’s Bone and worked on such releases as All Is Lost, Stories We Tell, Mud and The Cove.
“We are absolutely delighted that Gravitas Ventures has chosen Felony for a theatrical release,“ said producer Rosemary Blight of Goalpost Pictures.
“When looking to partner with a US distributor, we were looking for an outfit passionate about the film and its potential in the North American market. We felt immediately that Nolan Gallagher and his team were the perfect fit and now, the arrival of Dusty Smith, has only increased our excitement about their plans.”
Edgerton plays a decorated cop who tries to cover up a tragic mistake, endangering his job, family and his freedom. Wilkinson and Courtney play cops who are complicit in the cover-up.
Felony was produced by Blight, Edgerton and Michael Benaroya. Executive producers are Joel Pearlman, Lisa Wilson, Ben Grant, Seph McKenna, Myles Nestel, Craig Chapman, Ben Sachs and Logan Levy.
Smith said: “Felony is exactly the kind of tense, brilliantly-plotted thriller that we think audiences will strongly connect with across all platforms. I'm really looking forward to this new challenge, if for no other reason that it will be the first time the words ‘Dusty Smith’ and ‘gravitas’ are used in the same sentence.”