Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Paolo Virzi's "The Leisure Seeker"

NEW YORK (September 22, 2016) – Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired all rights in the US, Latin America, Asia (excluding Japan), Eastern Europe, Portugal and South Africa to Paolo Virzì’s THE LEISURE SEEKER.

Currently in production, the film stars Academy Award-winner® Helen Mirren and two-time Golden Globe-winner® Donald Sutherland as a runaway couple going on an unforgettable cross-country journey in their vintage camper. Ella and John are fleeing the suffocating care of their doctors and grown children. He is distracted but strong; she is frail but sharp. Their journey aboard the faithful old camper they call The Leisure Seeker takes them from Boston to Key West. Sharing moments of exhilaration and anguish, they recapture their passion for life and their love for one another on a road trip that provides revelation and surprise right up to the very end. Written by Francesca Archibugi, Francesco Piccolo, Stephen Amidon, and Virzì, THE LEISURE SEEKER is inspired by the novel of the same name by Michael Zadoorian.

Sony Pictures Classics said, "The Leisure Seeker looks to be a major 2017 find. This is a rich story that promises career best performances from Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland. We look forward to bringing Paolo Virzi's film to audiences in the United States and around the world."

THE LEISURE SEEKER is produced by Indiana Production's Fabrizio Donvito, Benedetto Habib, and Marco Cohen, alongside Rai Cinema. The film is executive produced by Indiana Production’s Alessandro Mascheroni, Dov Mamann and Daniel Campos Pavoncelli, as well as David Grumbach, Mathieu Robinet, and Gilles Sousa of BAC Films.

“We are very glad and proud that our film will continue its journey with Sony Pictures Classics. We are confident that it will be a great journey,” said Indiana Pictures.

“We are very proud and happy to be working with SPC. We respect their love of Cinema and powerful stories, and we know they will make this beautiful film a commercial success,” added David Grumbach of BAC Films.

THE LEISURE SEEKER marks Paolo Virzì’s first film shot entirely in the US. His previous film LIKE CRAZY played in the Directors’ Fortnight at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

The deal was negotiated between CAA, Gilles Sousa from BAC Films and Sony Pictures Classics.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

Michael Barker and Tom Bernard serve as co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics—an autonomous division of Sony Pictures Entertainment they founded with Marcie Bloom in January 1992, which distributes, produces, and acquires independent films from around the world. Barker and Bernard have released prestigious films that have won 32 Academy Awards^® (28 of those at Sony Pictures Classics) and have garnered 159 Academy Award^® nominations (133 at Sony Pictures Classics) including Best Picture nominations for WHIPLASH, AMOUR, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, AN EDUCATION, CAPOTE, HOWARDS END, AND CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; a global channel network; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 142 countries. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com/.