Sony Pictures Classics has purchased the North American rights. “Living,” the film from Oliver Hermanus starring Bill Nighy that premiered at this month’s Sundance Film Festival out of competition.
The film is a new take on Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film “Ikiru”This is the story of Kazuo Ishiguro (the Nobel Prize-winning novelist who wrote it) whose own work was adapted into films like “The Remains of the Day”And “Never Let You Go.”
Sony Pictures Classics also purchased rights to the film worldwide in Latin America, India and Scandinavia, Eastern Europe. Germany. South Africa. Southeast Asia. There have not been any release plans.
“Living” is the story of a civil servant in London in 1953 as the city is still recovering from World War II who is tired of being a cog in the city’s bureaucracy, buried under paperwork and lonely at home with the feeling that his life has felt empty and meaningless. He attempts to find fulfillment in his life after a medical diagnosis forces he to take stock.
The cast also includes Alex Sharp, Aimee Lou Wood and Tom Burke.
Stephen Woolley produced the film.“The Crying Game”) and Elizabeth Karlsen (“Carol”) of Number 9 Films, who also produced Sony Pictures Classics’ upcoming drama “Mothering Sunday.”Film4 and Ingenious supported the film’s development, as well as funding from Film4, County Hall Arts and Lipsync. Kurosawa Productions are the executive producers.
The film features costume design by 15-time Academy Award nominee and three-time winner Sandy Powell, hair and makeup design by Nadia Stacey, cinematography by Jamie Ramsay, and production design by Helen Scott, who all four recently worked together on “Mothering Sunday.”
“From the dazzling screenplay by Ishiguro, to the visual storytelling by Oliver Hermanus, to the spectacular performances led by Bill Nighy, to the evocative score and the perfection of the movie‘s design and costumes, ‘Living’ is that overwhelming, emotional movie audiences are hungering for in their return to theaters,”Sony Pictures Classics executives made the statement in a statement. “We are thrilled to embark on this adventure with these artists and our producer friends Stephen Woolley, Liz Karlsen, Daniel Battsek, and Rocket Science.”
“’Living’ has been a work inspired by the passion of Kurosawa and built on by the equally passionate and sublimely talented Ishiguro, Bill Nighy and Oliver Hermanus,”Woolley spoke. “The team at Sony Pictures Classics have demonstrated for decades (with a track record of great movies that is unrivalled) that passion is the vital ingredient in not only making and creating vibrant movies but also releasing those films to audiences in North America and globally. Elizabeth and I as the producers of ‘Living’ are honored to be in their company again and we are excited to share this glorious film in cinemas where it rightly belongs to inspire audiences in 2022 to embrace Living.”
Rocket Science and CAA Media Finance reached the agreement. The latter will handle international sales. He previously worked with Sony Pictures Classics. “French Exit.”