Lightyear Entertainment Acquires Brian Cox Drama ‘The Etruscan Smile’

Lightyear Entertainment has acquired the North American rights to the Mihal Brezis & Oded Binnun-directed drama The Etruscan Smile starring Brian Cox. The pic will be released November 1 in New York and Los Angeles just in time for an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run. A theatrical rollout is slated for the spring of 2020.

Produced by six-time Oscar winner Arthur Cohn and adapted from Jose Louis Sampedro’s bestselling book La Sonrisa Etrusca by Michael McGowan, Michal Lali Kagan and Sarah Bellwood, The Etruscan Smile follows Rory MacNeil (Cox), a rugged old Scotsman who reluctantly leaves his beloved isolated Hebridean island and travels to San Francisco to seek medical treatment. Moving in with his estranged son, Rory’s life will be transformed, just when he expects it least, through a newly found love for his baby grandson. The title refers to the famous terra cotta statues that bear a mysterious smile even in their afterlife and instill hope towards the idea of a happy death.

“It’s a marvelous film,” said Arnie Holland, Lightyear Entertainment President. “Brian Cox gives the most charming and delightful performance you can [possibly] imagine. It’s a real tour de force for him – and for Arthur Cohn, whose amazing track record continues with this movie.”

The Etruscan Smile also stars Rosanna Arquette, JJ Feild, Thora Birch, Treat Williams, Tim Matheson, Peter Coyote and Emanuel Cohn. The executive producer is Renata Jacobs.

View this article at Deadline.