Music Box Acquires Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Baseball Comedy ‘Eephus’ by Carson Lund (EXCLUSIVE)

Music Box Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Carson Lund’s comedy drama “Eephus,” which premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. The film was recently announced as an Official Selection of New York Film Festival, where it will have its North American premiere.

Music Box plans for a theatrical release nationwide followed by home entertainment. London- and Paris-based sales and production house Film Constellation handles worldwide sales and negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.

“Eephus” is set on a small-town New England baseball field called Soldiers Field. As an imminent construction project looms over their beloved baseball field, a pair of Sunday league teams face off for the last time over the course of a day. Tensions flare up and ceremonial laughs are shared as an era of camaraderie and escapism fades into an uncertain future. (The title refers to the Eephus pitch, a rarely-deployed, high arcing slow pitch used to deceive hitters.)

Variety highlighted “Eephus” as one of the must-see films of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival (see here), with Variety’s own Jessica Kiang calling it an “adorably existential, off-kilter take on the sports movie,” praising the film for the “pearls of practical wisdom and jewels of melancholic wit that make ‘Eephus’ a gem.”

“Eephus” is the feature directorial debut of American filmmaker Carson Lund, whose credits as a director of photography include “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point,” “Topology of Sirens” and “Ham on Rye.”

The film features an ensemble cast including Keith William Richards (“Uncut Gems,” “Ponyboi”), Wayne Diamond (“Uncut Gems”) and Keith Poulson (“The Sweet East,” “Between the Temples”), with a voice cameo by acclaimed director Frederick Wiseman and an appearance by former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee.

Music Box has a diverse slate and has handled the releases of such films as the biographical documentary “Ennio” by Giuseppe Tornatore, Venice Competition drama “Other People’s Children” by Rebecca Zlotowski, Cannes romantic comedy “The Nature of Love” by Monia Chokri, Film Independent recognized American indie’s such as “Fremont,” “The Unknown Country” and “Give Me Liberty,” and the 2024 Sundance U.S. Dramatic Competition Grand Jury Prize winner “In the Summers.”

Lund said: “We’re thrilled to work with Music Box Films, whose impressive roster includes such singular directors as Terence Davies, Christian Petzold and Sean Baker. Their team shares our belief in the power and value of the theatrical experience, which is especially important to us with ‘Eephus’ given the film’s widescreen staging, ensemble comedy and surround sound mix.”

“Like the Eephus pitch itself, Carson Lund’s feature debut snuck up on us slowly,” stated Brian Andreotti of Music Box. “An extended, low-stakes match between two amateur baseball teams in a small town in Massachusetts becomes a barometer of changing times, a precise evocation of a vanishing regional character of America’s pastime played out with a connoisseur’s appreciation of the rhythm of the game. We didn’t expect to find a foul-mouthed, soulful, nostalgic baseball comedy on the Croisette, but great cinema translates to any stadium.”

“Eephus” is produced by Lund, Tyler Taormina, Michael Basta and David Entin for Omnes Films, and is co-produced by Gabe Klinger, Ola Byszuk, Michael Richter (A Major Production), and Kyle Stroud (Carte Blanche).

Michael Tonelli, Ashish Shetty, Brian Clark and Jim Christman of Magmys are the executive producers. The film is also co-produced by ColdFeet Films and presented in association with Through the Lens Entertainment.

Nord-Ouest Films boarded “Eephus” prior to Cannes as the film’s French co-producer.