Freakonomics To Be Brought To You By Magnolia Pictures

Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights to Freakonomics, the filmed version of Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner's bestselling book.

Like the book, the film uses case studies -- some of them hilariously funny -- to examine incentive-based human behavior.

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, the book, has sold millions of copies worldwide. Freakonomics, the film, is team-directed by documentary filmmakers whose work is acclaimed worldwide:

• Alex Gibney (Taxi To The Dark Side) peers behind the façade of Japanese Sumo wrestling, exposing searing truths about the ancient and revered sport.
• Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing (Jesus Camp) provide an eye-opening profile of underachieving kids who are incentivized to learn with cold hard cash.
• Morgan Spurlock (Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?) riffs on the meaning, choice and repercussions of baby names.
• Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight) looks at a troubling theory about why crime rates dropped in the early '90s.
• Seth Gordon (King of Kong provides the throughline and context with commentary from the authors.

Magnolia plans a fall theatrical release for the film.  Meanwhile, Freakonomics will be presented as the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival's closing night gala on April 30. At the festival's May 1 screening at NYC's Directors Guild Theater, the filmmakers will be on board for a post-screening panel discussion.