Sundance: Bradley Cooper drama 'The Words,' Kate Bosworth thriller 'Black Rock' picked up

In the first major deal of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, CBS Films has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the Bradley Cooper drama The Words for $2 million, EW has confirmed. About a struggling writer who becomes a literary megastar after he passes off a lost manuscript as his own, the film also stars Zoe Saldana, Jeremy Irons, Olivia Wilde, and Dennis Quaid, and is the directorial debut for co-writers Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal. The deal includes an additional $1.5 million for print and advertising.

The Words is actually the closing night film for the festival, but it sparked a bidding war after a private screening on Saturday. CBS Films is eyeing a release this fall.

Meanwhile, the distaff thriller Black Rock — about three friends (Kate Bosworth, Lake Bell, and Katie Aselton, who also directed) whose vacation on a remote island turns terrifying — was snapped up today by LD Distribution for a reported $1 million.

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