A24 Films continues to make blockbuster deals after a successful 2013 that saw the young distributor release The Bling Ring and Spring Breakers. On Wednesday, the company snapped up A Most Violent Year, the new project from one of Hollywood’s top young directors, J.C. Chandor.

Chandor has been talking about the period piece for awhile, as it will be his follow-up to the critically acclaimed All Is Lost with Robert Redford. He had hoped to work with Javier Bardem, but Inside Llewyn Davis star Oscar Isaac is now the lead. Jessica Chastain is also starring.

A24 made the deal at Sundance. Deadline, which first reported the news, notes that the distributor is looking to give the film a wide release by the end of the year. That will give A24 its first real Oscar contender during the next awards race.

The news was later confirmed by A24 on Facebook and Twitter.

Participant and Image Nation Abu Dhabi are co-producing A Most Violent Year, which will go in front of the cameras soon. It is set in New York, 1981 with an immigrant’s dream of having a business clashes with one of the city’s most violent years. Chandor also wrote the script and will co-produce.

“Participant has a terrific track record of partnering with groundbreaking filmmakers and we are thrilled to continue that tradition with this exciting film,” A24 said in a statement. “J.C. has already shown what a talent he is and is consistently making bold choices in the stories he chooses to tell. This is an important step for our company as we are thrilled to be working with the incredible team involved in making this film.”

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