Fox Searchlight has picked up the rights to Nat Faxon and Jim Rash’s “The Way, Way Back,” which premiered at Sundance on January 21. The acquisition is a big buy, reportedly just under $10 million. Clearly, Searchlight expects to take the movie out in a wide commercial release, as this is more than they paid for Sundance hit and Oscar-winning Steve Carell-starrer “Little Miss Sunshine.”
“The Way Way Back” stars Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Maya Rudolph and Sam Rockwell, and centers on a teenager who takes a summer job at a run-down water park. Faxon and Rash, Oscar-winning co-writers of Searchlight’s 2011 release “The Descendents,” make their directorial debut.
Here’s the synopsis via Sundance:
The Way, Way Back tells the story of 14-year-old Duncan’s awkward, funny, and sometimes painful summer vacation with his mother, Pam, her overbearing boyfriend, Trent, and his daughter, Steph. Although Duncan has a tough time fitting in and finding his place, he does find an unlikely ally and mentor in Owen, a carefree employee at the local water park where Duncan gets a job. Over the course of the summer, as his mother drifts further away, Duncan—with encouragement from Owen—begins to open up and come into his own.
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