NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The may be over but it's biggest sale has just gone through. Netflix has acquired starring Glen Powell, for $20 million.
鈥淗it Man,鈥� which Linklater and Powell co-wrote, stars the 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick鈥� actor as a New Orleans psychology professor who also works undercover posing as a hit man for the police in sting operations to catch would-be murders. The film, a comic, existential riff on the hit-man genre, was one of the breakout hits of TIFF,
Netflix didn't announce release plans yet for 鈥淗it Man,鈥� which also played at the Venice Film Festival. The film, which co-stars Adria Arjona as a wife who wants her husband dead, is loosely based on a true story detailed in a from 2001 about faux-hit-man Gary Johnson.
In an interview in Toronto, Linklater, the veteran independent filmmaker of 鈥淏oyhood" said he and Powell elected to make the film before selling it to a distributor to avoid some of the pitfalls of modern Hollywood.
鈥淚t used to be the head of a studio would sit down with you, talk, maybe say, 鈥業 think you鈥檝e got the movie in you. Let鈥檚 do it.鈥� Now, they don鈥檛 even want to hear from you. You鈥檙e up against algorithms and marketing in advance,鈥� said Linklater. 鈥淪o it was kind of great to go: 鈥楲et鈥檚 just make the movie and bet on ourselves.鈥欌��
That bet has paid off in a fall-festival movie market that's been disrupted by the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. It's been speculated that, with pipelines potentially drying up, studios and streamers might be more eager to pick up finished films.
But the 鈥淗it Man鈥� sale is the largest yet of the season. Netflix, which also distributed earlier acquired Anna Kendrick鈥檚 directorial debut, 鈥淲oman of the Hour,鈥� following its premiere in Toronto.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
