Millennium Entertainment's CEO Bill Lee announced today that the company has acquired all U.S. rights to James Mottern's (Trucker) crime-thriller God Only Knows starring Ben Barnes (The Chronicles of Narnia, The Words), Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl, The Judge), Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs, Bad Lieutenant), Toby Jones (The Hunger Games), Kenny Wormald (Footloose), and Slaine (The Town). Written by Emilio Mauro (the upcoming Fox series The Middleman executive produced by Ben Affleck), God Only Knows was produced by Matthew E. Chausse and was shot in Rhode Island and Boston last fall.

Ben Barnes plays Nick, an ambitious young man running with the Boston crime syndicate. Once on the inside he realizes that the glory days of the Mafia are long gone. Behind his boss's (Keitel) back he decides to strike out on his own and expand the business. Seemingly on top of the world with more money than he could have dreamed of and a great girl (Meester), Nick soon realizes that by making his own rules he's put himself and everyone he loves in grave danger.

Here's what Millennium Entertainment's Bill Lee had to say in a statement.

"In the spirit of the great gangster films of the 1970's, James Mottern has created a compelling thriller with broad appeal. We're confident that God Only Knows will resonate with audiences and we look forward to bringing the film to as manypeople as possible."

Producer Matthew E. Chausse had this to say in a statement.

"Emilio Mauro's authentic voice and gravitas shapes this tale of young male angst trapped between Boston's criminal underbelly and the untenable love that seeks to crawl out from under it. I hope audiences take the time to discover this powerful film."

Millennium Entertainment's Tristen Tuckfield negotiated the deal with Nate Bolotin of XYZ Films and Adam Davids. Synchronicity Entertainment, a division of The Solution Entertainment Group, is representing the film internationally at the Cannes Film Market.

Mottern is represented by Untitled Entertainment and Loeb & Loeb.