Magnolia Pictures Takes U.S. Rights to Morton Downey Jr. Doc 'Évocateur'

Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to the documentary “Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie,” directed by Ironbound Films’ Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller and Jeremy Newberger. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April and will receive an early 2013 theatrical release.

The film tracks Downey’s impact on the talk show scene beginning in the late 1980’s when he brought a brash, confrontational style that earned him the title “Father of Trash Television."

“‘Évocateur’ is an incredibly entertaining documentary,” said Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles. “While we tend to think that everything has gotten so extreme in this age of reality television, it’s shocking to see how ‘The Morton Downey Jr. Show’ makes everything today pale in comparison. The filmmakers have done a great job capturing that.”

Magnolia exec Dori Begley negotiated the deal with Josh Braun of Submarine. The specialty distributor also has festival finds “The Queen of Versailles,” “2 Days in New York,” “Compliance” and “The Hunt” forthcoming.

“Évocateur” marks the third acquisition of a 2012 Tribeca fest selection. Last month, Sundance Selects grabbed North American rights to the grand jury prize-winning “Una Noche,” and IFC Midnight nabbed U.S. rights to “Replicas" in early June.