Miramax, Fox Searchlight buy Garden State

PARK CITY, Utah, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Fox Searchlight Pictures and Miramax Films have agreed to share worldwide distribution rights to "Garden State."

The deal was announced Sunday by Fox Searchlight Pictures president Peter Rice and Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

"Garden State" marks the directorial debut of Zach Braff (of television's "Scrubs"), who also wrote the screenplay and stars in the film along with Natalie Portman and Peter Sarsgaard. The film is a romantic comedy about a guy who returns to his hometown for the first time in 10 years to attend the funeral of his clinically depressed mother, a journey of self-discovery that reconnects him with the world he left behind and gives him a chance to find love in an unexpected place.

Miramax and Fox Searchlight will share equally in the film's worldwide revenues, and the two companies are currently discussing which entity will distribute in which territory worldwide, based on their respective resources and desires.