Sony Pictures Classics, believing that Lawrence Kasdan's movie about a dog is not a dog of a movie, has acquired domestic rights to "Darling Companion," the company said Wednesday.

The movie is about Beth, who saves a mess of a dog she sees on the side of a freeway in Denver. Because Beth, played by Diane Keaton, is struggling with her marriage and her empty home, she grows extremely close to the animal. As tends to happen in movies, her husband loses the dog after a wedding at their vacation home. Beth, distraught, gets the wedding guests to help her search for her beloved dog.

The movie stars Keaton as Beth and Kevin Kline as her self-involved husband, Joseph. Dianne Wiest, Richard Jenkins, Elizabeth Moss, Mark Duplass, Ayelet Zurer and Sam Shepherd also star.

Meg Kasdan and Lawrence Kasdan wrote the movie and Lawrence Kasdan directed. Anthony Bregman produced for Likely Story, Lawrence Kasdan produced for Kasdan Pictures and Elizabeth Redleaf produced for Werc Werk Works.

Sony expects to release the movie in 2012.

Sony Sony