Maya Entertainment nabs rights to Mark Ruffalo’s directorial debut

Maya Entertainment has nabbed U.S. distribution rights to Sympathy for Delicious, the feature directorial debut of Mark Ruffalo, to be released theatrically in the Spring of 2011.

Written by Christopher Thornton, who also stars in and produced the project, Sympathy for Delicious follows the true story of a newly paralyzed DJ who gets more than he bargained for when he seeks out the world of faith healing. The film also stars Ruffalo, Juliette Lewis, Orlando Bloom and Laura Linney, and is based on Thornton’s real-life experiences. The film – which was awarded a Special Jury Prize for Directing at this year’s Sundance Film Festival – was produced by Corner Store Entertainment’s Scott Prisand, Matt Weaver and Andrea Sperling, along with Mark Ruffalo and Christopher Thornton.

“After its successful premiere at Sundance this year, we’re so excited to be releasing this powerful and moving film and working with Mark Ruffalo on his award-winning directorial debut,” said Maya’s Tonantzin Esparza. “It’s an honor to collaborate with Mark on a project that has been so important to him.”

Ruffalo added, “This film has been a very personal project for me, and I know Maya will be a wonderful partner to have in our corner.”

Next up for Ruffalo is Marvel’s big-budget adaptation of The Avengers comic series, in which he plays The Hulk, picking up the torch from Edward Norton. He’ll be joined in The Avengers by Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johanssen as Black Widow, and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, with Joss Whedon behind the camera.