After a year on the film festival circuit, "I Love You Phillip Morris," starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, is set for a North American release in December.

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Roadside Attractions and Liddell Entertainment said Friday they have acquired the North American rights to the film from EuropaCorp.

The movie is co-directed and co-written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, co-writers of "Bad Santa." Based on the non-fiction book by former Houston Chronicle investigative reporter Steve McVicker, it is scheduled for a Dec. 3 theatrical release.

Leslie Mann and Rodrigo Santoro co-star in the movie, which had its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, screened as part of Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival and opened to huge critical acclaim internationally, its distributors said.

"Audiences who know this is from the creators of 'Bad Santa' will be thrilled that it's as outrageous as they'd expect," producer Mickey Liddell said in a statement. "It's a true-life, daring, crazy love story with fascinating lead performances by Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor."

"Jim and Ewan once again prove themselves to be among the rare group of A-list actors who take the risks, embrace them and wildly succeed," said Howard Cohen, co-president of Roadside Attractions. "This is a film that everyone has been talking about, and we're thrilled it became available again, as we had been in hot pursuit of it at Sundance and were disappointed it was one that got away."

A synopsis of the movie said it "is the improbable but true story of a spectacularly charismatic conman's journey from small-town businessman to flamboyant white-collar criminal, who repeatedly finds himself in trouble with the law and on the lam, brilliantly escaping from the Texas prison system on four separate occasions -- all in the name of love."