Exclusive: STXFilms Acquires Seth Rogen/Michael Keaton Starrer KING OF THE JUNGLE
STXfilms is in final negotiations to acquire the U.S. distribution rights to the Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (I Love You Phillip Morris) comedy King of the Jungle, with Seth Rogen (This is the End, The Disaster Artist) and Academy Award® nominee Michael Keaton (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Spotlight) in talks to star, from a script by Golden Globe® and Emmy® Award winners Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. Based on the true story first published in Condé Nast’s Wired magazine by Joshua Davis, the film is from Condé Nast Entertainment, Zaftig Films, MadRiver Pictures and Endurance Media, who are also co-financing, and Epic Entertainment. IMR International introduced King of the Jungle to foreign buyers at the AFM and will continue foreign sales at the EFM this week. STX has committed to a wide U.S theatrical release.
King of the Jungle is based on the Wired magazine article “John McAfee’s Last Stand,” telling the wild true story of rogue tech magnate John McAfee (Keaton), creator of the McAfee Antivirus software, who cashed-in his fortune, left civilization, and moved to the jungle in Belize. There, he set-up a Colonel Kurtz-like compound of guns, sex and madness. In the film, Wired magazine investigator Ari Furman (Rogen) accepts what he thinks is a run-of-the-mill assignment to interview McAfee, but once he arrives in Belize, he finds himself pulled into McAfee’s escalating paranoia, slippery reality, and murder.
The film will be produced by Jeremy Steckler of Condé Nast Entertainment, Zaftig’s Charlie Gogolak, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, MadRiver’s Marc Butan, Endurance’s Steve Richards, and Epic’s Joshua Davis.
CAA Media Finance are brokering the deal with Carolyn Steinmetz and Jordan Lichtman at STX.
Rogen is represented by UTA and Principal Entertainment LA; Keaton is represented by ICM Partners and Ziffren Brittenham.
IMR’s The Report recently sold in an eight-figure Sundance deal with Amazon. The slate also includes the recently announced Black Flies with Mel Gibson and Tye Sheridan; Guy Ritchie’s next film Bush; Ruin with Margot Robbie and Matthias Schoenarts; King of The Jungle with Seth Rogen and Michael Keaton; and John Michael McDonough’s The Forgiven starring Ralph Fiennes. The MadRiver production slate also includes James Gray’s Ad Astra starring Brad Pitt for Fox and New Regency.
