May 23, 2015 - 12:52 AMT
Orchard picks up Jesse Eisenberg drama “Louder Than Bombs”

As the Cannes Film Festival draws to a close, the Orchard is in final negotiations for North American rights to the drama “Louder Than Bombs”, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Variety has learned.

The film from Norwegian director Joachim Trier premiered in competition on Monday night to strong reviews, and the Orchard beat out other distributors such as Magnolia, A24, Alchemy and Music Box, according to sources close to the talks. The movie will have a traditional theatrical release.

“Louder Than Bombs” focuses on a widower (Gabriel Byrne) and his sons (Eisenberg and Devin Druid), who are in grief after the loss of their mom (Isabelle Huppert) — a war photographer for the New York Times. Amy Ryan, David Strathairn and Rachel Brosnahan round out the cast.

Producers include Motlys’ Thomas Robsahm; Memento Films’ Alexandre Mallet-Guy; Animal Kingdom’s Joshua Astrachan; Big Beach’s Marc Turtletaub; and Bona Fide’s Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa.

The Orchard, which until recently was mostly in the music distribution business, has made a big splash on the festival circuit this year. The company acquired at Sundance the raunchy comedy “The Overnight” (which opens on June 19), as well as the doc “Cartel Land” and the SXSW drama “Lamb.”

UTA Independent Film Group handled the negotiation.

Photo: Cannes Film Festival