Magnet Gets "Monsters"

A scene from Gareth Edward’s "Monsters." Image provided by Magnolia Pictures

Over the weekend, Magnolia Pictures' genre film division Magnet Releasing acquired Gareth Edwards' "Monsters."

Magnolia's SVP Tom Quinn closed the deal with Protagonist Pictures' CEO Ben Roberts just hours after the film debuted here at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, TX. The company acquired U.S., Canadian and Mexican rights to the movie.

Magnolia, believing that the movie has wide appeal, acted quickly in Texas, making an immediate offer after a rousing midnight debut screening of the film on Saturday night in Austin. Magnolia's Tom Quinn decided to act immediately and take the movie off the market here at SXSW. He said he was lured by filmmaker Edwards' hyphenate talent. The award-winning visual effects expert wrote, directed and edited the film, also creating the special effects for the movie.

Produced by Allan Niblo and James Richardson of Vertigo Films, "Monsters" was made as a road movie, travelling through Guatemala, Mexico and the US, incorporating locals to work alongside stars Scoot McNairy ("In Search of a Midnight Kiss") and Whitney Able ("All the Boys Love Mandy Lane").

The description by the SXSW Film Festival is: "Six years after a NASA probe crashes, bringing alien life forms to Earth, a journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border. "

Gareth Edwards recently directed "Attila the Hun" for the BBC, creating all of the project's visual effects himself. He won SciFi London's 48 hour film contest, leading to the creation of his feature film debut, "Monsters."

Worldwide sales for the movie are being handled by Protagonist Pictures.