Colin Firth (Photo: Gage Skidmore via Flickr)
Operation Mincemeat, a stranger than fiction true story set during World War 2 starring Colin Firth, has been sold to almost every major territory apart from the US at the Cannes Film Market.
John Madden will direct the drama scripted by Michelle Ashford (Masters of Sex, The Pacific, John Adams), adapted from a Ben Macintyre book of the same name.
Produced by See-Saw Films and Cohen Media Group in association with Archery Pictures, it will go into pre-production later this year.
It is set in 1943 as the Allies are determined to launch an all-out assault on Fortress Europe but face a seemingly impossible challenge – to protect a massive invasion force from entrenched German firepower and avert a potential massacre.
Firth will play brilliant intelligence officer Ewen Montagu, who together with colleague Charles Cholmondley dreams up an inspired although improbable disinformation strategy involving a dead man.
Warner Bros acquired the rights for the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Benelux and Spain. Other deals brokered by FilmNation Entertainment include Gaga for Japan, IDC (Latin America), Edko (Hong Kong), PVR (India),Shaw Renters (Singapore), Joy N Contents (South Korea, Thailand) and MovieCloud (Taiwan).
Transmission Films will release in Australia. CAA Media Finance co-reps the US rights.
“We are delighted that Operation Mincemeat has captured the imagination of distributors all over the world at Cannes,” said See-Saw Films co-managing directors Iain Canning and Emile Sherman, and Charles Cohen.
“FilmNation have been incredibly passionate about the combination of director John Madden, Michelle Ashford’s script and the cast we are assembling on this project.”