Image Entertainment Picks Up Hugh Grant Comedy 'The Rewrite' for U.S.

Image Entertainment has acquired U.S. distribution rights to the Hugh Grant-Marisa Tomei comedy The Rewrite.

The Castle Rock-produced film is the fourth collaboration of Grant and writer-director Marc Lawrence, following Music & Lyrics, Two Weeks Notice and Did You Hear About the Morgans? 

It centers on a screenwriter (Grant) who once had it all — an Oscar, a hit movie and a beautiful wife. Fifteen years later, he's divorced and broke, so when his agent gets him a teaching job at a small university in New York, he grudgingly takes the position while hoping to write a new script. His perspective starts to change when he gets to know his students, including a single mom (Tomei) looking for a fresh start.

Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons and Aja Naomi King co-star. The film was produced by Castle Rock's Liz Glotzer and Martin Shafer with Red Granite's David Koplan executive producing.

Image, a subsidiary of RLJ Entertainment, recently released films including the Reese Witherspoon West Memphis Three drama Devil's Knot and the horror threequel Cabin Fever: Patient Zero. Its upcoming slate includes the Adam Sandler starrer The Cobbler.

Its deal for Rewrite was negotiated by CAA on behalf of the filmmakers and Mark Ward, Jess De Leo and Grace Santos Feeney on behalf of Image.

The film opened in the U.K. on Oct 8. Stateside, a theatrical release is planned for next spring. 

Email: Austin.Siegemund-Broka@THR.com Twitter: @Asiegemundbroka