Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the U.S. rights to “The Son,” the next film from “The Father” director Florian Zeller that stars Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern and Vanessa Kirby.
SPC also released “The Father,” which was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, and won two, including one for Best Actor Anthony Hopkins and the other for best Screenplay.
Production on “The Son” will begin in August.
Along with the U.S., SPC also acquired rights for “The Son” for South East Asia, China, India, Eastern Europe and Turkey.
“The Son” follows Peter (Jackman) as his busy life with new partner Beth (Kirby) and their baby is thrown into disarray when his ex-wife Kate (Dern) arrives with their troubled and distant teenage son, setting the family on a dangerous collision course.
Zeller and Christopher Hampton are adapting “The Son” for the screen. Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Joanna Laurie are producing with Christophe Spadone alongside Zeller. Film4 is co-financing the production.
Executive producers on “The Son” are Hugh Jackman, Simon Gillis for See-Saw Films, Daniel Battsek, Lauren Dark and Ollie Madden for Film4, Philippe Carcassonne for Ciné-@, Tim Haslam and Hugo Grumbar for Embankment and Peter Touche and Christelle Conan for Ingenious Media.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to tell this story, and to do it with this extraordinary cast and for such a wonderful partner in Sony Classics. After our collaboration on ‘The Father,’ I could not ask for a better home for ‘The Son,’” Zeller said.
“Florian Zeller and Chris Hampton have written a truly remarkable screenplay. Florian is a masterful filmmaker and we know he will once again surround himself with the very best actors and crew imaginable,” SPC said in a statement. “The family from ‘The Father’ continues with producers Christophe Spadone and Phillipe Carcassonne and our friends at Embankment and Film4, joining Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and their Seesaw team alongside Peter Touche and Ingenious. ‘The Son’ promises to be one of those rich deep dramas embraced by audiences everywhere and the kind of movie people will keep coming back to watch again and again.”
“We are so pleased to be working with Sony Pictures Classics on the release of ‘The Son.’ Florian is a rare director who creates a visceral viewing experience that is exhilarating and deeply intimate and we are looking forward to working with Sony Pictures Classics on bringing the film to audiences,” Canning and Sherman said in a statement.
The deal was negotiated on behalf of the filmmakers by CAA Media Finance, Embankment and Cross City Films, See-Saw’s in-house sales arm. Embankment and Cross City Films are handling international sales on the film, and Cross City Films and CAA Media Finance are co-representing domestic rights.
Variety first reported the news.
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