STARRING CHADWICK BOSEMAN AND JOSH GAD, JOINED BY KATE HUDSON, DAN STEVENS AND JAMES CROMWELL REGINALD HUDLIN DIRECTING.
PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAHY HAS COMMENCED IN BUFFALO, NY
Open Road Films has acquired all U.S. rights to MARSHALL, starring Chadwick Boseman (upcoming “Black Panther,” “42,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Get on Up”) as legendary attorney and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and Josh Gad (“Frozen,” “The Wedding Ringer,” upcoming “Beauty and the Beast”) as lawyer Sam Friedman. Joining the previously announced cast of MARSHALL are Kate Hudson (upcoming “Deepwater Horizon,” “Mother’s Day,” Oscar® nominee for “Almost Famous”), Dan Stevens (upcoming “Beauty and the Beast,” “Downton Abbey”), James Cromwell (Oscar® nominee for “Babe”), Sterling K. Brown (“The People vs. O.J. Simpson”) and Keesha Sharp (“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”). Oscar® nominee Reginald Hudlin (producer of “Django Unchained”) is directing and Paula Wagner (“Mission: Impossible,” “The Last Samurai”) is producing through her Chestnut Ridge Productions banner along with Jonathan Sanger (“The Elephant Man”) and Hudlin.
Financiers of MARSHALL are Star Light Media, Inc., Hero Film, Ltd. and Sky Legend along with Hunter Ryan and David Ryan. Executive producers are Peter Luo and Belton Lee.
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has all international distribution rights for MARSHALL.
MARSHALL began principal photography in Buffalo, New York, on Monday, May 23. The production is utilizing New York State’s Film Production Program.
MARSHALL is based on a true incident in the life of Thurgood Marshall, when he was a young lawyer, long before his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. As the nation teeters on the brink of WWII, a nearly bankrupt NAACP sends Marshall to conservative Connecticut to defend a black chauffeur against his wealthy socialite employer in a sexual assault and attempted murder trial that quickly became tabloid fodder. In need of a high profile victory but muzzled by a segregationist court, Marshall is partnered with Samuel Friedman, a young Jewish lawyer who has never tried a case. Marshall and Friedman struggle against a hostile storm of fear and prejudice, driven to discover the truth in the sensationalized trial which helped set the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement to come.
The screenplay for MARSHALL is a unique collaboration between renowned trial lawyer, Michael Koskoff, and his son, screenwriter Jacob Koskoff (“Macbeth”).
MARSHALL is being produced with the full support of the Thurgood Marshall and Samuel Friedman estates, including their children, John W. Marshall and Lauren Friedman.
The deal was negotiated on behalf of Open Road Films by CEO Tom Ortenberg, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, Elliott Kleinberg and Senior Vice President of Production and Acquisitions Sophie Cassidy.
ABOUT OPEN ROAD FILMS
Open Road Films is a leading, independent, theatrical motion picture company, releasing a diverse slate of star-driven films which has included multiple #1 releases and enormous critical response. The company was founded in 2011 by AMC Entertainment Inc. (AMC) and Regal Entertainment Group (Regal), the two largest theatrical exhibition companies in the United States. The uniquely formed company is widely known as a filmmaker-focused distributor that supports both box office hits and top prestige titles.
Open Road Films led the 2016 critically-acclaimed film, Spotlight, to win the Oscar® for Best Picture, becoming the youngest studio in history win the big prize. The film, which has earned almost $45 million at the U.S. box-office, stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian d’Arcy James, Stanley Tucci and Billy Crudup was directed by Tom McCarthy, who also won the Oscar® for Best Original Screenplay, with his co-writer (and executive producer) Josh Singer. Spotlight has won numerous high profile critics and guild awards, including the Screen Actors Guild Best Ensemble Award and the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature Film. Spotlight also appeared on over 250 critics’ Top Ten lists for 2016.
Other notable Open Road Films releases include: Nightcrawler, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, which took the #1 spot at the box-office during its opening week and received an Oscar® nomination for Best Original Screenplay, along with a Golden Globe nomination – it was named one of the best films of 2014 by the AFI and National Board of Review and top critics nationwide; the hit film Chef, written by, directed by and starring Jon Favreau along with Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johansson, John Leguizamo, Bobby Cannavale, Oliver Platt, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Downey, Jr.; The Nut Job, which opened to over $25 million at the box office as the highest ever opening for an independent animated film; The Grey, directed by Joe Carnahan and starring Liam Neeson, which opened #1 at the box office; End Of Watch, directed by David Ayer and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña, which opened #1 at the box office;Rosewater, written and directed by Jon Stewart; A Haunted Housestarring Marlon Wayans; and Side Effects, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Channing Tatum.
Upcoming Open Road Films releases include: Gleason (7/29/16), the hit documentary from the 2016 Sundance Film Festival; Snowden (9/16/16), written and directed by Oliver Stone starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Zachary Quinto, Melissa Leo ,Tom Wilkinson, Scott Eastwood and Timothy Olyphant;Sleepless (2/24/17), starring Jamie Foxx and Michelle Monaghan;Bleed For This (11/4/16), starring Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart and Katey Sagal and directed by Ben Younger; and Blazing Samurai(4/14/2017), the animated family film featuring the voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Mel Brooks, Michael Cera, George Takei, Gabriel Iglesias, Aasif Mandvi, Djimon Hounsou, Michelle Yeoh and more;The Nut Job 2 (5/19/17), the sequel to the 2014 hit animated film, featuring the voices of Will Arnett, Katherine Heigl, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Dunham, Bobby Moynihan, Bobby Cannavale, Isabela Moner, Gabriel Iglesias, Sebastian Maniscalco and Peter Stormare; andShow Dogs (10/13/17), a live action family comedy from the director of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Scooby Doo and The Smurfs.
The company, led by industry veteran CEO Tom Ortenberg, is based in Los Angeles.
ABOUT SONY PICTURES WORLDWIDE ACQUISITIONS
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) company. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com.
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