Herzog's 'Rescue Dawn' sells to Lion

MGM makes Toronto's first notable buy

By STEVEN ZEITCHIK

TORONTO -- The Toronto Film Fest has its first notable buy, as MGM has scooped up North American rights to Werner Herzog Vietnam pic "Rescue Dawn" ahead of its world preem Saturday night.

Pic stars Christian Bale as a POW who is captured early in the war, escapes and makes his way through the treacherous Viet Cong-controlled jungle. Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies co-star.

MGM, which has been beefing up its slate under chairman-CEO Harry Sloan and COO Rick Sands, has set the pic for an awards-season run with a December release. Company is expecting as many 25 wide releases per year.

"Dawn" is a feature re-make of director's 1997 doc "Little Dieter Needs to Fly." Herzog, who also wrote "Dawn," is often preoccuped with men stranded in foreign circumstances, as he was in earlier pics "Stroszek" and "Invincible."

Herzog's pedigree had put the pic on the short list of many acquisition execs.

"Dawn" is produced by Steve Marlton, Elton Brand and Harry Knapp, through Marlton's and Brand's Gibraltar Films shingle and exec produced by Kami Nagdi, Jimmy de Brabant, Michael Dounaev, Elie Samaha, Gerald Green and Nick Raslin. Adam Rosen at Rosen Feig Golland & Lunn repped the film stateside; Conquistador is selling foreign rights.

Vietnam pics have been through a long dry period in Hollywood, though war-prisoner angle could resonate with auds because of current events in Iraq.

Buy marks the first in what has been a slightly slow opening to the fest. Many other acquisition targets-Including the Reese Witherspoon-produced "Penelope" and Vince Vaughn's Wid West Comedy Show," both of which screened at fest Friday night--have not immediately sold.

Jennifer Lopez-starrer "El Cantante" and ensemble drama "Bonneville" are expected to draw studio interest next week.

Herzog last directed 2005's "Grizzly Man," produced by Discovery Films and distribbed stateside by Lionsgate.