ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE KEIRA KNIGHTLEY AND MATT SMITH TO STAR IN OFFICIAL SECRETS FOR MARK GORDON / ENTERTAINMENT ONE
Dramatic True Story will be Directed by Academy Award Winner Gavin Hood and
Produced by PGA Award® Winner Ged Doherty
Entertainment One Licensing Worldwide Rights via Sierra/Affinity
LOS ANGELES, CA – February 12, 2018 – Mark Gordon and Entertainment One (eOne) today announced that two-time Oscar®-nominated actress Keira Knightley and Matt Smith will star in the feature film OFFICIAL SECRETS, based on the dramatic true story of British intelligence whistle-blower, Katharine Gun. Academy Award winning filmmaker Gavin Hood (Eye in the Sky, Tsotsi) will direct the gripping thriller. Marking his second collaboration with Hood, Ged Doherty (Eye in the Sky, Loving) will produce with Elizabeth Fowler (Devil’s Knot) and Melissa Shiyu Zuo. Claudia Bluemhuber, Anne Sheehan, Hugo Heppell are executive producers. Principal photography on the project will start March 12th in Yorkshire, England.
eOne will oversee production and will finance the project with Screen Yorkshire and Melissa Shiyu Zuo through her company GS Media. eOne will directly distribute the feature film in Canada, UK, Australia/New Zealand, Germany, Benelux and Spain. Sierra/Affinity will represent all other international territories outside of the US.
OFFICIAL SECRETS tells the true story of British Intelligence whistle-blower Katharine Gun (Knightley), who during the immediate run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion leaked a top-secret NSA memo exposing a joint US-UK illegal spying operation against members of the UN Security Council. The memo proposed blackmailing smaller, undecided member states into voting for war.
“OFFICIAL SECRETS documents an incredibly intense and suspenseful true story, pulling the curtain back on one of the most controversial international incidents in recent history,” said Mark Gordon. “Combining Keira and Matt’s exceptional talent with Gavin’s unrivaled storytelling abilities, we are confident this film will leave a lasting impression with audiences around the world.”
An internationally acclaimed actress, Knightley has an impressive list of credits, including THE IMITATION GAME, the global blockbuster PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN franchise, BEGIN AGAIN, ATONEMENT, and PRIDE & PREJUDICE, as well as the current release COLETTE and the upcoming feature THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS, which also hails from Mark Gordon. She is represented by CAA, United Agents, and MGMT Entertainment.
Smith was most recently seen starring in the award-winning series The Crown. He has just been announced to take on role of Charles Manson in feature film CHARLIE SAYS, and will next be seen starring in MAPPLETHORPE, the biopic of the acclaimed photographer. Smith is also well known for his much-heralded turn as the Eleventh Doctor in television series Doctor Who. He is represented by UTA and Troika.
Hood’s impressive slate of directing and writing credits include his Oscar win for TSOTSI, ENDER’S GAME, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE and EYE IN THE SKY. He is represented by WME, and Myman Greenspan Fineman Fox Rosenberg Light.
About Entertainment One
Entertainment One Ltd. (LSE:ETO) is a global independent studio that specialises in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sales of entertainment content. The Company’s diversified expertise spans across film, television and music production and sales, family programming, merchandising and licensing, and digital content. Through its global reach and expansive scale, powered by deep local market knowledge, the Company delivers the best content to the world.
Entertainment One’s robust network includes newly-launched MAKEREADY with Brad Weston; content creation venture Amblin Partners with Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks Studios, Participant Media, and Reliance Entertainment; leading feature film production and global sales company Sierra Pictures; unscripted television production company Renegade 83; world-class music labels Dualtone Music Group and Last Gang; and award-winning digital agency Secret Location.
The Company’s rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 80,000 hours of film and television content and approximately 40,000 music tracks.
About Screen Yorkshire
Screen Yorkshire champions the film, TV, games and digital industries in Yorkshire and the Humber. Its aim is to secure and support the very best projects, companies and individuals, helping to make Yorkshire and the Humber one of the most sought after destinations for production in the UK\
Screen Yorkshire offers production financing through the Yorkshire Content Fund. Since it launched the YCF in February 2012 Screen Yorkshire has invested in 40 film & TV projects, including: Dark River, Yardie, Ghost Stories, Journeyman, Dad’s Army, Swallows and Amazons, Testament Of Youth, ’71, National Treasure, Ackley Bridge, The Great Train Robbery, Peaky Blinders, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and Hank Zipzer.
Screen Yorkshire has been leading the development of the Yorkshire Screen Hub, a cluster for the screen industries, which was recognised by the BFI in 2016 as the first awardee of funds from the Creative Cluster Challenge Fund to develop a growth plan for the industry in the region. Screen Yorkshire also works with Creative Skillset to develop regional and UK wide talent by designing and delivering industry schemes such as Bootcamp and Triangle.www.screenyorkshire.co.uk