Paramount Wins 'September 5,' Upsets Oscar Race (Exclusive)

In a move that will completely upend the Oscar race, Paramount Pictures has snagged the U.S. distribution rights to the top-selling title screening at this year's fall film festivals, a straight-up contender called September 5th, The Hollywood Reporter he learned exclusively.

The studio, which also acquired worldwide distribution rights for September 5th (except for Germany, Switzerland and Austria, where it will be handled by Constantin Film), will release it in the United States on November 27, the Wednesday of the Thanksgiving long weekend, and will expand its theatrical run into December, with a real awards run behind it.

Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro AND Leonie Benesch protagonist of the director's third feature film by Tim Fehlbaum (The colony AND Hell), a dramatic thriller about ABC Sports' coverage of the terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics, in which Palestinian militants took Israeli athletes hostage. The resulting standoff became the first live television coverage of an act of terrorism, with all sorts of moral and ethical dilemmas for reporters on the ground, including the legendary ABC Sports chief Roone Arledge (Sarsgaard), the young producer coordinating the network's coverage of the Olympics Geoff Mason (Magaro) and a German citizen who helped them orient themselves in the language and culture (Benesch).

Paramount's Republic Pictures has acquired global sales rights to September 5th in July and began shopping for its U.S. rights. Interest among distributors peaked after the film premiered at the recent Venice and Telluride film festivals, blowing the roof off the screen and drawing comparisons to previous Best Picture Oscar winners Argon AND Reflector. Ultimately, Paramount Film Group decided that this was a property that should be kept in the family. It now joins the studio's already formidable awards list that also includes Gladiator 2, Better man AND Transformers One.

The Hollywood Reporterin our review of September 5thdescribed it as “an enlightening and compelling experience” with a “terrific cast” that is “more than just a time capsule of how news was handled in the pre-digital age; it's an account that speaks to our time, too.”

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