Paramount Plans Fall Release for ‘September 5’

Paramount Pictures has scheduled a limited theatrical release for Tim Felbaum’s thriller September 5 by November 27 after a tremendous response at the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals.

The film, starring Peter Sarsgaard, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch and John Magaro, has been described as comparable to the Oscar winner for Best Picture Argo, and follows the ABC Sports TV control room and the ethical and nerve-wracking dilemma they faced while covering the first televised act of terror, when militant Palestinian terrorists, known as Black September, took the entire Israeli team hostage.

Swiss-born director Tim Fehlbaum worked from a script he wrote with German writer Moritz Binder. The screenplay is a detailed account from the perspective of the people watching the tragedy unfold in front of a wall of TV screens.

Deadline film critic Pete Hammond praised: “September 5 succeeds on every level.” Moreover, “the acting is superb across the board, with Magaro particularly sensational as a man desperately trying to rise to the challenge against all odds,” Hammond wrote.

Republic Pictures, the acquisition arm of Paramount, bought the film in July for a low-single digit amount.

Paramount has other contenders in their awards season mix, including the Michael Gracey-directed Robbie Williams biopic Better man which sits at 86% fresh with Rotten Tomatoes critics after its Telluride and TIFF run. There’s also Transformers One premiering this weekend, which could be a contender for the animated category. And let’s not forget Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II on November 22nd.