CBS Films acquires Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt starrer 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' at TIFF

Ewan McGregor at the "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" premiere at TIFF

Credit: AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn

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CBS Films has picked up Lasse Halstrom's "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" at the Toronto Film Festival for a total amount equaling between $4-$5 million. The adaptation of the best-selling Paul Torday novel stars Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt.

In the first major sale for a film premiering at this year's Toronto Film Festival (previous pickup "Shame" had already screened at Venice and Telluride), CBS Films has acquired the Lasse Halstrom-directed comedy "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" (read Drew's review here) for an estimated amount somewhere between $4-$5 million, according to Deadline. The title was also being circled by several other distributors, with final bidding coming down to a contest between Summit and CBS.

Based on the best-selling novel by Simon Torday, the film stars Ewan McGregor as a British fisheries scientist (McGregor) who is paid by a wealthy, charismatic sheik to introduce fish into the man-made waterways located in the Highlands of Yemen. This goes against the wishes of several local leaders.

Emily Blunt plays the sheik's legal representative and McGregor's love interest, while the sheik is played by Amr Waked. Kristin Scott Thomas portrays a British press secretary who pushes the project through as a political PR maneuver.

The film premiered last night at the prestigious festival, which runs through September 18th.