Gravitas Ventures Acquires Serial Killer Comedy ‘Barney Thomson’

Gravitas Ventures has obtained the U.S. rights to Robert Carlyle’s directorial debut Deadline, “Barney Thomson,” reports  Known overseas as “The Legend of Barney Thomson,” the comedic thriller stars Emma Thompson, Ray Winstone, Tom Courtenay and Carlyle himself. 

Richard Cowan and Colin McLaren wrote the adaptation based upon Douglas Lindsay’s “The Barbershop Seven” book series. The story follows an awkward barber named Barney Thomson, who is stuck in a mediocre life with his crude mother. Everything changes, however, when he stumbles into the life of a serial killer.

The film debuted at the Edinburgh Film Festival and won the Best Film prize at the BAFTA Scotland Awards last week, with Thompson named Best Actress. The film was financed by Westerkirk Capital, Creative Scotland and Telefilm Canada and is a Canadian/UK co-production. Myriad is handling worldwide sales. 

The deal was negotiated by Gravitas founder and CEO Nolan Gallagher and Gersh’s Jay Cohen and D’Amico on behalf of the filmmakers.

“Barney Thompson” is set for a February 2 VOD release and a theatrical release on March 11. 

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