Amazon picks up Sundance prison drama “Crown Heights”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Amazon Studios has picked up world rights to the Sundance prison drama “Crown Heights” for $2 million-plus, Variety has learned.

The movie, which premiered to strong reviews on Monday as part of the U.S. Dramatic Competition, stars Lakeith Stanfield (“Short Term 12”) as a real-life Brooklyn man wrongfully convicted of murder. His only hope at freedom is his friend (played by former NFL cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha), who fights for more than 20 years to reverse the verdict.

Zoe Kazan and Kumail Nanjiani appear in The Big Sick by Michael Showalter, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Nicole Rivelli.

Matt Ruskin directed and wrote the film, which was shot in New York. Ruskin, Asomugha, and Natalie Galazka produced the pic, which will receive a theatrical release.

“Crown Heights” is the fifth title Amazon has acquired out of Sundance, after “The Big Sick” (a romantic comedy that sold for $12 million), the 90s comedy “Landline,” and the documentaries “Long Strange Trip” and “City of Ghosts.”