Malkovich, Hanks team up for 'Buck Howard'

NEW YORK, May 30 (UPI) -- Magnolia Pictures announced Friday that it had acquired the North American rights to the film "The Great Buck Howard," starring John Malkovich and Tom Hanks.

The movie from Bristol Bay Productions, and Hanks and Gary Goetzman's Playtone Pictures, debuted at the Sundance film festival earlier this year.

Directed by Sean McGinley, it co-stars Colin Hanks, Emily Blunt, Steve Zahn, Griffin Dunne and Jay Leno.

Malkovich plays Buck Howard, a faded mentalist who in his prime was a marquee act in Vegas and was featured 61 times on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show," but who is now left performing in community centers and decaying theaters.

Howard has an unexpected career renaissance, however, after he gets a new road manager and publicist.

Magnolia said it plans a fall theatrical rollout for "The Great Buck Howard."

"'The Great Buck Howard' is a rare find in the current marketplace -- a charming, incredibly likeable film that has something for everyone," Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles said in a statement. "John Malkovich's performance is really outstanding."