Our wish may have come true. Earlier this year when we were discussing Lisa Cholodenko’s “The Kids Are Alright” in our Most Anticipated Films of 2010 feature we noted that the indie filmmaker behind “High Art,” and “Laurel Canyon” had always hinted at making a perfect picture, but had so far, always fallen a little short.
We sort of figured she was probably due to knock one out of the park and it seems like she has. The buzz from Park City, Utah has been great and “The Kids Are All Right” has even been dubbed a Sundance sensation and basically sparked the first bidding war of the festival.
So with that in mind, it’s probably no surprise to hear that the smart indie film folks at Focus Features have swooped down upon the film. While the ink is apparently not yet dry, both the L.A. Times and NY Times are reporting that a deal is about to be made. Apparently the mid-sized studio put in a bid for just under $5 million dollars and they’re just ironing out the details with producers and filmmakers.
Focus is the rare-surviving specialty unit wing of Universal that has had mainstream success in recent years with modestly budgeted pictures like, “Milk” and “Brokeback Mountain.” They stumbled a little bit this year with bombs like Ang Lee’s “Taking Woodstock” and the criminally ignored Jim Jarmusch film, “The Limits Of Control.” But unlike say Paramount Vantage or Miramax, they’re still here (along with Fox Searchlight as two of the last few remaining mini-majors who put out some quality pictures).
“The Kids Are All Right” stars Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, and Mark Ruffalo. Moore and Bening play lesbian parents whose two children (played by Josh Hutcherson and Mia Wasikowska who plays Alice in Tim Burton‘s upcoming “Alice In Wonderland“) set out to find their sperm donor father (Ruffalo) and turn their family upside down in the process.
