Sony Pictures Classics has acquired rights to James Vanderbilt’s thriller “Nuremberg,” starring Academy Award winners Rami Malek and Russell Crowe and Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon.
The film, from Walden Media and Bluestone Entertainment, will be released in theaters nationwide on Nov. 7, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials
Based on the book “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist” by Jack El-Hai, “Nuremberg” chronicles the true story of the trials held by the Allies against the defeated Nazi regime in post-war Germany. Malek stars as American psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Malek), who is tasked with determining whether Nazi prisoners are fit to stand trial for their war crimes and finds himself in a “complex battle of wits” with Hermann Göring (Crowe), Hitler’s right-hand man.
In addition to Malek, Crowe and Shannon, the film features an all-star ensemble cast, including Richard E. Grant, Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Mark O’Brien, Colin Hanks, Lydia Peckham, Wrenn Schmidt, Lotte Verbeek and Andreas Pietschmann.
“I am beyond thrilled to be reuniting with [studio co-presidents] Michael Barker and Tom Bernard and the whole Sony Pictures Classics team, who ten years ago took a chance on me as a first-time director, and whose legacy of championing great films makes them an incredible partner,” said writer-director Vanderbilt in a statement. [Vanderbilt wrote and directed 2015’s “Truth,” starring Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford, which the studio released.]
“‘Nuremberg’ explores the fragile boundary between justice and vengeance in the aftermath of unimaginable atrocity,” Vanderbilt continued. “As we approach the 80th anniversary of this unprecedented moment in history, this story feels more urgent than ever, and I can’t wait for audiences to see it on the big screen.”
In a statement, representatives for Sony Pictures Classics described the film as “a major work, a riveting subject, even more relevant today, that will speak to audiences of all ages. Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Rami Malek, and Leo Woodall are all at their career best here.”
Mythology Entertainment developed the project for over a decade after first acquiring the underlying rights to El-Hai’s original article and book in 2011.
“Nuremberg” is produced by Richard Saperstein, Bradley J. Fischer, Vanderbilt, William Sherak, and Walden Media’s Frank Smith, Benjamin Tappan, and Cherilyn Hawrysh, along with István Major of Filmsquad and George Freeman. Executive producers include Jack El-Hai, Brooke Saperstein, Annie Saperstein, Beau Turpin, W. Porter Payne, Jr., Paul Neinstein, and Széchenyi Funds Géza Deme and Tamás Hajnal. The film is financed by Bluestone Entertainment, Walden Media and Széchenyi Funds (Budapest, Hungary).
WME Independent represented the worldwide rights to the film and negotiated the deal with Sony Pictures Classics on behalf of the filmmakers.
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