The Weinstein Co. has snapped up U.S. rights to The Eichmann Show, a historical drama recounting the global broadcast of the trial of Nazi Adolf Eichmann, one of the chief architects of the Holocaust.
Following in the tradition of Frost/Nixon and Goodnight and Good Luck, the film — which has already aired on the BBC in the U.K. — is a behind-the-scenes retelling of how blacklisted television director Leo Hurwitz and producer Milton Fruchtman set out to capture the testimony of Eichmann. Known as the trial of the century, it was broadcast to 37 countries over four months in 1961.
TWC struck the deal with Content Media, which is representing the film on behalf of Feelgood Fiction. The pact was announced at Berlin’s European Film Market.
Martin Freeman (Sherlock) stars as Fruchtman, while Anthony LaPaglia plays Hurwitz. Rebecca Front, Andy Nyman and Nicholas Woodeson also star.
“The Eichmann Show details such a compelling and important piece of history and does so in a way that is truly innovative. We are thrilled to be on board,” Harvey Weinstein said in a statement.
Added director Paul Andrew Williams: “This is a film about an important political and cultural moment that changed history.”
It wasn’t immediately clear whether TWC is planning a theatrical or television release in the U.S. In the U.K., the film was part of a series of shows aired by the BBC in January to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
