Deal-making begins at the Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes Film Festival has just begun, and there are already a couple of notable pickups.

Sony Pictures Classics acquired Love is All You Need, a romantic comedy set in Italy. Pierce Brosnan leads the cast in the movie, which Deadline Hollywood describes as centered on "a group of people all seeking love, about passion and happiness, about jealousy and loneliness. First and foremost, it’s a story about having the courage to change your life – even when you think it’s too late." Director Susanne Bier has received plenty of acclaim for her films (including Things We Lost in the Fire and recently Oscar winner In a Better World), but this one sounds considerably more lighthearted. Given the success of older-skewing indies like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, this could resonate well with audiences seeking specialty titles.

Samuel Goldwyn Films showed it could move quickly with its pickup of Grassroots. It's dated the film for a release just six weeks from now. The politically themed feature, based on real events, centers on an unknown man who runs against the incumbent Seattle City Councilman with the help of the former writer of an alternative weekly. Goldwyn will open the film on June 22, shortly after it makes its premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival on June 10. The project sounds fun: Jason Biggs plays the writer, the lanky Joel David Moore (who played a researcher who goes Navi in Avatar) the challenger, and Cedric the Entertainer the politician. According to THR, the project is moving fast partly because of current events: this year's election and the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Also hot on the Cannes news feed? The premiere of Moonrise Kingdom, the latest Wes Anderson film. Eric Kohn of IndieWire captures what most people are saying with this comment: "Those open to Anderson quirks will find a rewarding experience littered with warmth and playful humor." If people haven't been won over by Anderson already, this picture won't change their minds.