Sony Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to Jason Reitman’s Gary Hart biopic, The Front Runner, starring Hugh Jackman as the disgraced presidential candidate.
Vera Farmiga and J.K. Simmons co-star in the project, which Sony will release this fall, timed to awards and election coverage. Endeavor Content and Bloom handled the worldwide sale, which was unveiled in Cannes.
The film chronicles the rise and fall of Sen. Hart, who was considered the frontrunner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination when his campaign was derailed by the story of an extramarital affair with Donna Rice. The incident is seen as the first time tabloid and political journalism merged in American politics.
Veteran political journalist Matt Bai, former Hillary Clinton press secretary Jay Carson and Reitman co-wrote the screenplay, based on Bai’s 2014 book All the Truth Is Out. Reitman and Helen Estabrook produced through their Right of Way Films banner in partnership with Aaron L. Gilbert of Bron Studios, which is backed by Creative Wealth Media.
Michael Helfand, co-head of Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions, and Jon Freedberg, senior vp content strategy Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions, negotiated the deal on behalf of Sony, with Anjay Nagpal and Matthew Erramouspe of O’Melveny on behalf of Bron.
A version of this story appears in The Hollywood Reporter’s May 12 daily issue from the Cannes Film Festival.
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