Following a buzzy world premiere on the Berlin Movie Pageant, HBO Movies has acquired the U.S. rights to the docudrama “Actuality,” starring Sydney Sweeney.
Within the movie, directed by Tina Satter, Sweeney portrays Actuality Winner, a lady convicted of leaking a confidential report on Russian election interference to the media. The movie accommodates verbatim dialogue from the unedited transcript of a FBI audio recording, capturing a tense 90 minutes because the FBI interrogates Winner at her dwelling in 2017. The whistleblower — a former U.S. Air Power member and Nationwide Safety Company translator — was sentenced to 5 years in jail.
Satter makes her function directorial debut with the movie, primarily based on her 2019 stage play “Is This a Room.” She additionally govt produced the undertaking and co-wrote the screenplay with James Paul Dallas.
Whereas HBO hasn’t set a launch date but, Sweeney has a devoted fanbase among the many community’s viewers after starring within the hit drama “Euphoria” and the primary season of “The White Lotus.” The deal was negotiated by UTA Unbiased Movie Group and WME Unbiased.
In her overview, Selection movie critic Jessica Kiang wrote that Sweeney was “revelatory” within the position, noting that the movie itself is a “intelligent, gripping docudrama.”
“From the second Winner, an ex-USAF Airman fluent in Farsi, Pashto and Dari and dealing as a translator for an NSA contractor, arrives again to her small home in Augusta, Ga., to find the FBI ready for her, Sweeney’s each flicker of emotion, micro-reaction, evasion and retraction, is completely plausible,” Kiang wrote.
Throughout a press convention at Berlin, Sweeney informed journalists she studied Winner’s interviews with a purpose to adapt her mannerisms and approach of talking for the audition. Satter then obtained the 2 ladies in communication by way of Zoom.
“When Tina related us, I used to be like, ‘Oh my god, this can be a dream for an actor,’ as a result of I’m truly getting to talk to the actual particular person, I’m attending to dive extra into their thoughts and and what she’s gone via in her life,” Sweeney mentioned.
“Actuality” is produced by Noah Stahl, Brad Becker-Parton, Riva Marker and Greg Nobile. Government producers are Ellyn Daniels, Will O’Connor, Daniel Ginsberg, Andrew Beck, Invoice Method, Elliott Whitton, Eva Maria Daniels, Philipp Engelhorn, Caitlin Gold and Satter. David Duque-Estrada and Rita Walsh co-produced.
The movie is a Seaview and a couple of SQ FT manufacturing in affiliation with Burn These Phrases, In The Minimize, Match Through Vi, Cinereach, and Tanbark Photos manufacturing. Financing, manufacturing and distribution authorized dealt with by Eugene Pikulin at 3B Regulation.
Deadline was first to report information of the acquisition.
