AFM round-up (DH, SCR, VAR, THR)

By Nancy Tartaglione

Following is a round-up of AFM deals and announcement making news over the past day.

Voltage Pictures has closed a host of pre-AFM sales for indie political drama "The Whistleblower," starring Rachel Weisz, Variety reports. Territories to acquire the project include Canada, Germany, France, Australia, Hong Kong, Latin America, Taiwan and the Middle East. UTA is selling the pic for the US.

Also per Variety, Maya Entertainment has acquired US rights to "Sympathy for Delicious," Mark Ruffalo's directorial debut. Plans are to release in the spring. Ruffalo, Juliette Lewis, Orlando Bloom and Laura Linney star.

Miley Cyrus will star in action comedy "So Undercover." Exclusive Media Group will produce and fully finance the Tom Vaughan-directed pic from a screenplay by Allan Loeb and Steven Pearl. Per Deadline, Cyrus will play a tough, street-smart private eye hired by the FBI to go undercover in a college sorority.

London-based WestEnd Films has boarded international sales for "The Song of Names," directed by Vadim Perelman and starring Anthony Hopkins and Dustin Hoffman.

Per Screen, the project will be shot by Oscar-winning dp Pawel Edelman. Script is by Oscar-nominated writer Jeffrey Caine with a score composed by Oscar-winner James Horner.

Story follows a man searching for a childhood friend, who mysteriously vanished one day when they were teenagers.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Anchor Bay Films has acquired all distribution rights for the US, UK and Australia/New Zealand to Joker Films' "Daydream Nation." Michael Goldbach's feature debut stars Kat Dennings and Josh Lucas.

TF1 International is handling two Canadian projects: "Hobo With A Shotgun" and ":) 388 Arletta Avenue."

Latter is produced by Vincenzo Natali and Steven Hoban. Starring Nick Stahl, the found footage film is "Paranormal Activity" meets "Rear Window," says TF1.

"Hobo" is from director Jason Eisener who originally won top honors in the Grindhouse Trailer Contest with a faux trailer for the project. Rutger Hauer stars in the vigilante tale.

France's Memento Films is handling the English-language debut of Palme d'Or winner and Oscar nominee Laurent Cantet, an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' "Foxfire."

Project, per Screen, is set in 1950s America, and follows a group of headstrong teenage girls. Memento previously handled Cantet's lauded "The Class."

StudioCanal has sold all Japanese rights on horror hit "The Last Exorcism" to Comstock Group.

Indomina Releasing, says Screen, has acquired all North American rights from Films Distribution to French horror project "The Pack" which premiered in Cannes and stars Yolande Moreau and Emilie Dequenne.

Magnolia International has closed multiple territories on Norwegian creature feature "Troll Hunter." According to Screen, the film has sold in the UK, Australia, Japan, Canada, Brazil and Thailand.

Finally, Strand Releasing has picked up all US rights to Catherine Breillat's "Sleeping Beauty" from Pyramide Intl. The film will be released next spring.

**This story was compiled from articles which can be found at Screen, Deadline, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter by clicking on the hyperlinks throughout.