A24 has acquired U.S. rights to John Cameron Mitchell’s How to Talk to Girls at Parties.

The film, which is set to start production in November, is based on an award-winning short story by Neil Gaiman and stars Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman and Alex Sharp, the breakout star and Tony Award winner for his performance in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

HanWay is handling international sales for the film at the Toronto Film Festival, but the domestic deal was in progress well before the TIFF began.

Gaiman is executive producing, while Howard Gertler (How To Survive a Plague, Mitchell’s Shortbus) is producing alongside Iain Canning and Emile Sherman (Shame, Macbeth).

The love story focuses on Enn, a shy teenage punk rocker in 1970s suburban London, and his two closest friends, Vic and John. One night they all sneak into a party where they meet a group of intensely attractive, otherworldly girls; at first they think they’re from a cult, but eventually come to realize the girls are literally from another world — outer space. The leaders of this alien colony have a nefarious plan in mind, but that doesn’t stop Enn from falling madly in love with Zan, one of the colony’s key members. Their burgeoning romance sets in motion a series of increasingly sensational events that will lead to the ultimate showdown of punks vs. aliens and test the bonds of friendship, family and true love.

“A24 is the best U.S. indie film distributor for a film like ours,” Mitchell said. “They combine today’s market strategies with the daring taste that flourished in the ’90s and ’00s. We’re so fortunate to be partnered with them for a genre-busting and hopefully crowd-pleasing creative endeavor.”

Mitchell co-wrote the screenplay with Philippa Goslett. Nico Muhly, Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu and Matmos are on board to compose original music and songs for the project.

CAA negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers. [Source]