Universal’s Catch of the Day: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman’s ‘Catfish’

I hate that nagging feeling of having attended a film festival and having missed out on the buzz film — as was the case with my trip to Sundance and my unattainable quest to see Catfish. The hype and build-up for Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman’s documentary was established on day one of its world premiere, and its been odd to see the a bidding war breakout and media questioning the truthfulness of the doc whose punch line I can guess at but would rather not know until I see it for myself. Here’s an interview with the filmmakers that won’t divulge much either.

Screen Daily reports that the winning bid comes from Relativity, via the mention and cheerleading from Brett Ratner and will be distributed by Universal Pictures — shouldn’t this be a Focus Features release instead? Capturing the Friedman‘s Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling produced and Kavanaugh, Tucker Tooley and Brett Ratner will serve as executive producers.

Nev, a 24-year-old New York–based photographer, has no idea what he’s in for when Abby, an eight-year-old girl from rural Michigan, contacts him on MySpace, seeking permission to paint one of his photographs. When he receives her remarkable painting, Nev begins a friendship and correspondence with Abby’s family. But things really get interesting when he develops a cyber-romance with Abby’s attractive older sister, Megan, a musician and model. Prompted by some startling revelations about Megan, Nev and his buddies embark on a road trip in search of the truth.