SONY PICTURES CLASSICS ACQUIRES JOSEPH CEDAR’S NORMAN: THE MODERATE RISE AND TRAGIC FALL OF A NEW YORK FIXER

NEW YORK (August 8, 2016) - Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired rights in North America, Benelux, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and Asia (excluding Korea) to NORMAN: THE MODERATE RISE AND TRAGIC FALL OF A NEW YORK FIXER, written and directed by Oscar-nominated® Joseph Cedar (FOOTNOTE). The film stars Richard Gere, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Josh Charles, Michael Sheen, Lior Ashkenazi, Dan Stevens, Steve Buscemi and Hank Azaria.

Norman Oppenheimer (Gere) only wants to matter. Living a lonely life in the shadow of power and money, he uses any angle or connection to put himself in a position of significance. He is an opportunist, just not a very good one. Until he finally bets on the right horse by buying a pair of expensive shoes for Micha Eshel (Ashkenazi), a lowly Israeli politician. When Micha becomes Prime Minister, Norman finds himself in the center of a geopolitical drama beyond anything he could have imagined. Using his small-time skills, Norman tries to solve a growingly complex puzzle with big-time implications. This everyman’s journey is filled with the comedy, drama, and tragedy of a man propelled out of anonymity yet ultimately too small to ever be valued.

NORMAN: THE MODERATE RISE AND TRAGIC FALL OF A NEW YORK FIXER was developed by Tadmor, financed by Tadmor and Cold Iron Pictures and produced by Oren Moverman, Gideon Tadmor, Eyal Rimmon, David Mandil, Miranda Bailey and Lawrence Inglee. The film was financed in association with The Rabinovich Foundation, The Jerusalem Film Fund and Keshet International.

"Joseph Cedar is that exceptional filmmaker who possesses a singular style and has so much to say about our character and the state of the world. We are so pleased to continue our adventure with Joseph which started with FOOTNOTE and now continues with NORMAN. The cast is superb highlighted by a career peak performance by Richard Gere. We are also pleased to be in business with our friends Oren Moverman, Miranda Bailey, Gideon Tadmor, Eyal Rimmon, and Jessica Lacy at ICM. Audiences will embrace this movie because there is simply nothing else out there like it," said Sony Pictures Classics.

Said Joseph Cedar, "Over the past twenty years so many of the significant and memorable films I’ve seen came out through the unique combination of expertise and passion that is Sony Pictures Classics. I feel extremely fortunate to be in this company again and happy that NORMAN will be adorned with the SPC logo – a logo that has come to mean: expect to be enriched by an extraordinary cinematic experience that may change the way you see the world."

"We're thrilled that NORMAN has found its perfect home with SPC," said Tadmor's Gideon Tadmor. "Joseph has created a beautiful, original and rich tale in line with his incredible past work. We couldn't be more proud of this movie and are excited to introduce NORMAN to the world together with SPC."

Producer Miranda Bailey stated, "I am excited to be working with Sony Pictures Classics again. It's not often one finds a distribution partner who puts so much effort and care into their films and film makers. The team couldn't be happier."

Sony Pictures Classics acquired Cedar’s last film, FOOTNOTE out of the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival in 2011, where it won the Best Screenplay Award (Prix du Scénario) and then went on to garner an Academy Award® nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Additionally, Cedar’s film, BEAUFORT, was also nominated for an Academy Award® in that same category, in 2008.

The deal was negotiated between ICM Partners and Sony Pictures Classics.

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 32 Academy Awards® (28 of those at Sony Pictures Classics) and have garnered 159 Academy Award® nominations (133 at Sony Pictures Classics) including Best Picture nominations for WHIPLASH, AMOUR, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, AN EDUCATION, CAPOTE, HOWARDS END, AND CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.