End of Watch screening is such a success, distributor Open Road snaps it up. Jake Gyllenhaal is executive producer

While sightings of Jake Gyllenhaal on trains and in restaurants suggest that Jake is back in the Big Smoke, no doubt trying to work off the apfelstrudel and croissant, End of Watch has taken a big leap forward on the road to release. On Wednesday a buyers screening of End of Watch took place at the Arclight in LA which clearly had the desired effect because by Thursday Open Road had snapped up the distribution rights. It sounds like Open Road will be investing a lot of resources behind End of Watch and putting it on a lot of screens. And in 2012 too.

Source for the picture

Of course, this deal wouldn't have happened if End of Watch hadn't wowed the Wednesday audience. People who were there have been posting their responses on the IMb boards. Here's the first:

It was a GREAT movie, it reminds me of the tv show Southland but on steroids. It had its funny, sad, happy, and oh crap moments. What the film is about is the life of two cops who decide to film/document their experiences while on the job, they encounter some pretty rough stuff while working in South Central. The movie had me on the edge of my seat literally from beginning to end. The ending was unexpected, i can hear alot of people around me gasping like "whoa" and "wtf". All in all, it was the best movie i have seen in months.

I also liked that the director of the movie David Ayer opened up the movie by saying the film isnt a finished product, he mentioned that a few minor deatil were gonna be cleaned up and that there would be more blood invloved, in my opinion the movie was perfect as is. i definitly recommend this movie to anyone wanting to watch an action movie that has its fair share of laughs and sad moments.

 And the second:

Hey I went to that screening too...film was great I loved it. The relationship between the cops was grreat really felt natural. And the slang words where spot on. Plus I live in south central and they passed by my house so it was fun seein familiar places. Got to speak to david ayers, michael pena who was a nice guy btw and anna kendrick......fun night hopefully I get to see the finished product in theaters....oh and.btw sum of the pov shots were awesome.

Deadline has more details from the screening and about the film itself:

“David [Ayer] has a unique voice as a filmmaker, he writes with authenticity and portrays real characters from the streets where he grew up,” said John Lesher, who produced through his Le Grisbi banner. “He moves you, but the film is very accessible and with these small cameras fabricated and fitted on characters and other places, it creates a 360-degree environment, like it was shot by the cops themselves and has changed the grammar of filmmaking somewhat. Jake and Mike trained five months to be police officers and it shows.”

Lesher said they decided to re-create a festival environment by showing the film in a recruited screening, which happened last night at the Arclight. They had several distribution options but were wowed by Open Road’s aggressiveness and distribution plans. “We wanted distributors to see it with an audience and it was standing-room only,” he said. “The film is gripping but there is also a lot of humor. It is better than a screening in an empty room with four executives; I’ve been through those. It’s a different experience watching with real moviegoers and buyers responded.”

Also, how good to read confirmation that Jake is Executive Producer!

Thanks to IHJ for the pictures and to BBMISwear for the big help with the links!