Lionsgate Buys Rabit Hole for Oscar Race

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http://www.deadline.com/2010/09/bre...ate-buying-rabbit-hole-jumps-into-oscar-race/

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate is wrapping up a deal to acquire North American distribution rights to Rabbit Hole, and the plan is to jump right into this year's Oscar race by releasing the picture before year's end. They will take advantage of a career performance by Nicole Kidman as a mother who loses her child. The John Cameron Mitchell-directed film stars Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as a married couple trying to keep the relationship alive after a devastating loss. David Lindsay-Abaire adapted his Pulitzer Prize-winning play. It is the second big deal in two days for Lionsgate, which partnered with Roadside Attractions for the U.S. rights on the Robert Redford-directed The Conspirator. While the decision was made early on that pic would debut next year and not enter the crowding Oscar race, entering the 2010 race was a priority for the sellers of Rabbit Hole. While companies like Fox Searchlight, Sony Pictures Classics and The Weinstein Company have Oscar pictures, Lionsgate needed a horse to ride in the race and this is it. It's reminiscent of Harvey Weinstein's acquisition last year of Tom Ford's A Single Man, which jumped right into the 2009 race.
The buzz on the film has been strong here, both with reviews and by the audience despite its dark subject matter. Kidman, who found the stage play and was the catalyst for getting the movie made (she bought the stage play it's her first producing credit), is being credited for her best performance since her Oscar-winning turn in The Hours.