EXCLUSIVE: Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to Normal, the action film directed by filmmaker Ben Wheatley, scripted by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad and starring Bob Odenkirk. The film was a big crowd-pleasing Midnight Madness title at the Toronto Film Festival this month. Magnolia has made a large commitment to acquire Normal and give it as wide a theatrical release next year as it has ever done in the company’s 20-year existence.
Perhaps the TIFF title with the most commercial potential, Normal is the latest collaboration for Odenkirk, Kolstad and producer Marc Provissiero. They teamed on Nobody, which became a sleeper hit that spawned a sequel Universal released last month. Normal stays squarely in the kinetic neo-Western spirit as the Nobody and John Wick franchises. Odenkirk plays an unassuming substitute sheriff with a troubled past who, after moving to a small, sleepy town to take the temp sheriff post, responds to a bank robbery and unknowingly uncovers something far more explosive. Henry Winkler and Lena Headey also star in the film, which got a raucous reaction when it played Toronto. In a Deadline interview, Kolstad said they already are figuring out a sequel if things go well when Magnolia puts it out wide next year.
For Sheriff Ulysses (Odenkirk), his provisional posting to the quaint Midwestern American town of Normal was meant to be a welcome respite from both his marital woes and recent moral injuries in the line of duty. But when a botched bank robbery interrupts the municipality’s tranquil pace, a dark secret is inadvertently exposed, and Ulysses soon discovers that the town is anything but its namesake. The town is a stronghold for ill-gotten riches held by the Yakuza, which triggers great action set pieces and sharp comedic dialogue. As is the case with other Kolstad-hatched franchises, there is plenty of mayhem as blood splashes the snow in this Fargo-like small town.
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Kolstad wrote the script from a story he wrote with Odenkirk. The film is produced by Provissiero, Odenkirk and Kolstad in partnership with QWGmire. Executive producers are Ellen Rutter, Rhonda Baker, Carrie Wilkins, Josh Adler, Molly C. Quinn, Matthew M. Welty, Elan Gale, Matthew J. Anderson, Jared D. Underwood, Glenn Feig and Andrew C. Robinson.
“Magnolia Pictures is beyond thrilled to bring this insanely entertaining movie to theatrical audiences across the country,” Magnolia co-CEOs Eamonn Bowles and Dori Begley said in confirming the deal. “Director Ben Wheatley and writer Derek Kolstad are at the top of their game,s and Bob Odenkirk continues his mastery of the everyman action hero with his best film role yet.”
Said Provissiero, Kolstad and Odenkirk: “We love to work within an established genre to tell stories that are daring, emotional, funny and bursting with action thrills — where the audience connects with the humanity of the characters while the world around them explodes in wild, heightened situations. Normal was built from the beginning as an independent film with comic turns and emotional resonance at a studio level scale and compelling action design.”
Said Odenkirk: “For myself, getting to bring a dimension of comedy to kick-ass action is a huge joy. Ben Wheatley joined us and directed a gonzo film for the ages. We cannot praise him enough. The Midnight Madness showing at TIFF was so loud with laughter, our favorite lines couldn’t be heard. We were drawn to Magnolia Pictures’ unwavering passion to prioritize Normal as a tentpole-sized event in theaters next year.”
Wheatley, who directed Free Fire and High Rise said: “I’m really happy to be working with Magnolia again. It’s a great fit for our movie. We’re looking forward to seeing them roll out the release.”
The deal was negotiated by Magnolia’s SVP Acquisitions John Von Thaden, with WME Independent Films representing the film across all territories.
For Magnolia, the distribution arm of the Wagner/Cuban Companies, the deal represents a step up in the company’s release strategy. The distributor will take a couple of big theatrical swings per year, this being the first. That is in addition to the specialty fare the label is best known for. Its recent slates have included the Sundance winner Plainclothes, the Amy Berg-directed It’s Never Over: Jeff Buckley, the Danielle Deadwyler thriller Folktales, the Kevin Macdonald festival favorite One to One: John & Yoko, the Elizabeth Olsen/Alicia Vikander sci-fi thriller The Assessment and last year’s breakout June Squibb starrer Thelma.
