Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions are in discussions to take US rights to director Jeff Nichols' "Mud," which debuted at Cannes. The coming-of-age story, set in Arkansas, stars Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Reese Witherspoon and Michael Shannon. The distributor/partners also teamed on "Margin Call" and upcoming "Arbitrage," starring Richard Gere.

Roadside's Howard Cohen says, "'Mud' is a riveting mystery thriller set in American river country with a stellar cast by one of our greatest new cinematic voices."  

Lionsgate and Roadside are eyeing a 2013 release. Producer FilmNation handled the film's foreign sales.

While Nichols' previous film "Take Shelter," starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, won both the Critics Week Grand Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes (plus a slew of other nominations and top ten list mentions in 2011), at Cannes some critics were underwhelmed by this more commercial effort. Nonetheless "Mud" so far registers a healthy 88% on the Tomatometer.

Source: blogs.indiewire.com