Sony Classics takes 'Driving Lessons' for a spin

Sony Classics has picked up the North America distribution rights to "Driving Lessons," which features Oscar-overdue Julie Walters giving a 100 m.p.h. performance. Fortunately, she's not behind the wheel, which could prove dangerous considering Walters portrays a flamboyant over-the-hill British actress with a lusty thirst for alcohol. But she hires a protégé (Rupert Grint of the "Harry Potter" movies) to chauffeur her around while she steers the shy lad toward an appreciation of Scottish scenery, poetry, Shakespearean plays and, oh, yes, driving a car that terrifies him because he only has a learner's permit. The directorial debut by "Mrs. Brown" scriptwriter Jeremy Broc premiered to critical huzzahs and much Oscar buzzing at the Tribeca Film Festival last month and now may be en route to the Kodak Theater where Sony Classics struck academy gold in March with "Capote."