Ben Kingsley-Led Sci-Fi Comedy ‘Jules’ Lands at Signature for U.K. and Ireland

Signature Entertainment has acquired the U.K. and Irish rights to Protagonist Pictures’ sci-fi comedy Jules, starring Oscar winner Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast).

The film is led by Kingsley and also stars Harriet Sansom Harris (Licorice Pizza), Jane Curtin (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) and Zoe Winters (Succession).

The feature was produced by Deborah Liebling (65) and Andy Daly (Review), Michael B. Clark and Alex Turtletaub (The Miseducation of Cameron Post), and Oscar nominee Marc Turtletaub (Little Miss Sunshine), who also directed the project from a script written by Gavin Steckler (Review).

The movie focuses on Milton (Kingsley) who lives in a small town and is getting more forgetful and isolated with age. “When an extra-terrestrial crash lands in his backyard, destroying his beloved birdbath, the two form an unlikely bond,” according to a plot description.

Bleecker Street previously acquired the North American rights to the feature.

The deal for Britain and Ireland was negotiated between Signature’s director of acquisitions and TV Elizabeth Williams and Protagonist’s acting head of sales Lina Marrone.

“Jules is a funny, feel-good gem of a film that we cannot wait to release later this year,” Williams said. “We are delighted to be working with the Protagonist team once more on another high-quality, must-see independent film and look forward to sharing Jules with audiences across the U.K. and Ireland very soon.”

Added Protagonist chief commercial officer George Hamilton: “It’s exciting to be partnering with the outstanding team at Signature who will introduce this heart-warming comedy to audiences in the U.K. and Ireland. Jules is such an enjoyable and comical story with a stellar cast, led by the brilliant Sir Ben Kingsley.”