Lionsgate UK acquires Belly Of The Beast as Crime Tale cheers on buyers

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate UK has acquired the true crime story of Andrew Haigh Belly of the Beaststarring Ben Stiller and Colin Farrell, produced and developed by Village Roadshow Pictures.

The distributor, which will release the film in cinemas in the UK and Ireland, joins a number of buyers who have snapped up the film, with negotiations being overseen by Paris-based film company mk2 Films.

Other contracts include Germany and Austria (Plaion), Italy (Rai Cinema, Italian International Film and I Wonder), Scandinavia (Mis Label), Benelux (The Searchers), CIS (Provzyglad), Eastern Europe (M2) and Greece (Tanweer). ), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo), Baltics (Garsu Pasaulio Irasai), Japan (Cinema), Taiwan (Moviecloud), Middle East (The Plot Pictures), Turkey (Bir Film), Israel (Lev Films), Airlines (Anuvu) and India (Pictureworks).

Bafta nominee Haigh is directing and co-writing with Alexis Jolly the film, which is based on the non-fiction book by Jerome Loving. Jack and Norman about the friendship between literary giant Norman Mailer (Stiller) and long-time convict Jack Henry Abbott (Farrell).

The couple got together in the late 1977s while Abbott was in prison. Mailer helped the convicted bank robber, counterfeiter and murderer write his memoirs and then advocated for his release from prison.

In the film, aided by Mailer's mentorship, Abbott is paroled after nearly a decade in prison and finds instant popularity among the literary elite, but struggles with life on the outside. When Mailer, creatively frustrated and envious of Jack's rising star, turns his back on his infamous apprentice, Jack finds himself reeling – just six weeks after his release, he commits an unforgivable act of violence in a New York diner.

The film is produced by Farrell and Claudine Farrell through their Chapel Place banners Alison Rosenzweig and Michael Gaeta, as well as Village Roadshow Pictures, which also developed the film.

Jillian Apfelbaum, Tristen Tuckfield and Nic Gordon are executive producers for VRP, which has produced over 100 feature films including American sniperthe lego movie, the Sherlock Holmes Franchise, the OCeans series, and Mystical river among other things. Film4 is executive producer and co-financier.

“Belly of the Beast is a powerful true crime story that is both tense and disturbing. “Under the masterful direction of Andrew Haigh, we can count on incredible performances from Ben Stiller and Colin Farrell, which we look forward to bringing to cinema audiences in the UK and Ireland,” said Marie-Claire Benson, EVP and Head of Motion Picture Group at Lionsgate UK .