Lionsgate UK Acquires ‘Belly Of The Beast’ With Ben Stiller & Colin Farrell As True Crime Story Fires Up Buyers – AFM

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

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

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

Bafta nominee Haigh directs and takes co-writer credits with Alexis Jolly on the film, adapted from Jerome Loving’s nonfiction book, Jack and Norman about the friendship between literary titan Norman Mailer (Stiller) and long-time convict Jack Henry Abbott (Farrell).

The pair connected in the late 1977s while Abbott was in jail, with Mailer helping the convicted bank robber, forger, and killer to write his memoirs and then lobbying for him to be released from jail.

In the film, bolstered by Mailer’s mentorship, Abbott is paroled after nearly a decade in prison and gains 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 spirals—committing an unforgivable act of violence in a New York City diner only six weeks after his release.

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

Jillian Apfelbaum, Tristen Tuckfield, and Nic Gordon executive produce for VRP, which has produced over 100 feature films including American Sniper, the lego movie, the Sherlock Holmes franchise, the Ocean’s series, and Mystic River among others. Film4 is executive producing and co-financing.

“Belly of the Beast is a powerful true crime story that is both tense and unsettling. Under Andrew Haigh’s masterful direction, we can be assured of 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 & Head of Motion Picture Group at Lionsgate UK.