EXCLUSIVE: Adam Driver will star in Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson, described as a wry comedy, with Amazon Studios and K5 International co-financing. Paterson also stars Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani (Body Of Lies).

K5’s Oliver Simon and Daniel Baur are executive producers and will handle international sales with ICM Partners repping domestic; it also reps Jarmusch. ICM brought the parties together and negotiated with deal. K5 will produce alongside Joshua Astrachan at Animal Kingdom and Carter Logan at Inkjet.

Driver’s career is going interstellar right now thanks to his performances in Star War: The Force Awakens and HBO’s Girls opposite Lena Dunham. He also recently completed Martin Scorsese’s long-awaited Silence opposite Liam Neeson and Andrew Garfield and can next be seen in Jeff Nichols’ Midnight Special with Kirsten Dunst and Michael Shannon. Driver is repped by Gersh.

Amazon Studios, under Ted Hope, is ramping up its film activities. Its first original film, Spike Lee’s Chi-raq, is generating plenty of ink with its look at gun crime in Chicago. The film features Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson, D.B. Sweeney, Harry Lennix, Steve Harris, Angela Bassett, John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. Teyonah Parris plays the lead role.

Amazon made its first feature acquisition earlier this year with the Kevin Spacey- and Michael Shannon-starrer Elvis & Nixon, directed by Liza Johnson. Bleecker Street is handling the theatrical release on that one. Amazon also acquired Whit Stillman period comedy Love & Friendship starring Kate Beckinsale, Chloë Sevigny, Xavier Samuel, Stephen Fry and Emma Greenwell. The film reunites Beckinsale and Sevigny with Stillman for the first time since 1998 cult classic The Last Days Of Disco.

“Amazon’s support for Jim and the film shows not just a true dedication to great filmmaking talent but also their commitment to give the film huge theatrical support to enable Paterson to reach the widest possible audience,” said K5 partner and head of sales Carl Clifton.

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