Vince Vaughn takes "Comedy Show" on the road

By Gregg Goldstein

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Indie distributor Picturehouse has picked up domestic rights to the performance documentary "Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights -- Hollywood to the Heartland."

The film follows Vaughn as he leads a team of unknown comics on a monthlong tour across the U.S. In addition to showcasing stage performances with such guests as Justin Long and Dwight Yoakam, the film takes a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of Vaughn and comedians Bret Ernst, Ahmed Ahmed, Sebastian Maniscalco and John Caparulo.

It was directed by Ari Sandel, who won an Oscar this year for the live-action short film "West Bank Story."

"Wild West" was originally picked up seven months ago by the Weinstein Co., which had tentatively slated the film for a spring release. The studio put it back on the market a month ago, because Vaughn said he and Weinstein "had a different vision of how to market and release the film."

Vaughn said of the film: "It's a comedy, but also a road movie. It's not like a traditional film. If it hasn't been done before, how do you present it? There was no fighting or arguing -- we were just not seeing eye to eye."

New Line Cinema, which owns Picturehouse with HBO, nabbed all international rights. A source close to the deal said the new purchase was slightly below $2.5 million, with a larger allocation of the money put toward marketing.

Picturehouse plans to release the film in limited runs around the U.S. early next year.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter