SONY PICTURES CLASSICS ACQUIRES GUISEPPE CAPOTONDI’S THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY

NEW YORK (September 16, 2019) – Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired all rights in all media, excluding airlines, in North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Latin America, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Thailand to Guiseppe Capotondi’s THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY.  Based on the novel by Charles Willeford, the film stars Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki, Mick Jagger and Donald Sutherland.  It premiered as the closing night film at the Venice Film Festival, where Capotondi, Jagger and Sutherland won the Fondazione Mimmo Rotella Award.  The film also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. 

Charming and ambitious art critic James Figueras (Claes Bang) has fallen from grace. He spends his days in Milan lecturing witless tourists about art history. His only glimmer of hope is a new-found love interest, the enigmatic American, Berenice (Elizabeth Debicki). An opportunity strikes when he is contacted by wealthy art dealer Joseph Cassidy (Mick Jagger), who summons James to his villa on Lake Como and asks him to steal a painting from the legendary reclusive artist Jerome Debney (Donald Sutherland). Soon, James’ greed and ambition get the better of him, and he finds himself caught in a web of his own making.

Written by Scott B. Smith, the film is produced by David Zander, William Horberg, David Lancaster and and executive produced by Sienna Aquilini, Aeysha Walsh, Dante Ariola, August Zander, Charlie Dombek, Sherborne Media, Rumble Films, Indiana Production Company, The Ingenious Group, and Hanway Films.  

The deal was co-repped by CAA Media Finance and UTA.

This acquisition rounds out the successful showing Sony Pictures Classics had at the Toronto International Film Festival this year where they also acquired the previously announced LYREBIRD and had strong showings of their titles THE CLIMB, FRANKIE, THE SONG OF NAMES, THE TRAITOR, WHERE'S MY ROY COHN, GREED, and PAIN AND GLORY.    

ABOUT SONY PICTURES CLASSICS 

Michael Barker and Tom Bernard serve as co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics—an autonomous division of Sony Pictures Entertainment they founded with Marcie Bloom in January 1992, which distributes, produces, and acquires independent films from around the world.  Barker and Bernard have released prestigious films that have won 39 Academy Awards® (35 of those at Sony Pictures Classics) and have garnered 173 Academy Award® nominations (147 at Sony Pictures Classics) including Best Picture nominations for CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, WHIPLASH, AMOUR, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, AN EDUCATION, CAPOTE, HOWARDS END, AND CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. 

ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT 

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; a global channel network; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 142 countries. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com.