Mumbai: The Weinstein Company (TWC) has acquired the worldwide rights to produce and distribute the feature film adaptation of the play August: Osage County. TWC co-chairman Harvey Weinstein will serve as one of the producers on the film. Weinstein will join Jean Doumanian Productions and Steve Traxler, president and co-founder of Jam Theatricals, who had previously signed on to produce.
Weinstein is a co-producer of the Broadway production of August: Osage County; Doumanian and Traxler are lead producers as are Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel who are on board to executive produce the feature film adaptation.
The film is currently in development, with playwright Tracy Letts writing the script. August: Osage County premiered in summer of 2007 at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre and debuted on Broadway in December 2007.
"This is such an extraordinary piece of material, which comes along once in a great while," said Weinstein. "I was blown away by Letts’s play and believe our movie will likewise have an incredible resonance with anyone who has ever been a part of a family. I’ve worked with Doumanian before and I am a big fan. I’m looking forward to working with her and Traxler on this picture."
"I am very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Weinstein again on August: Osage County — we had previously worked together on films such as Bullets Over Broadway and Everyone Says I Love You. I greatly respect his taste as a filmmaker and a distributor," said Doumanian. "I know he is equally passionate about Letts’ wonderful play, which has spoken to so many people, and I look forward to collaborating with him on the film adaptation."
"Letts wrote a great American play and we look forward to making it into a motion picture. We envisioned this as a film before we opened on Broadway and I am so pleased to be working with Doumanian to make this a reality," said Traxler.
Ben Famiglietti, vice president of production and development, originally brought the play to Weinstein, who immediately signed on as a co-producer of the Broadway production. Famiglietti also brought the movie rights to TWC. Famiglietti and Rob Scheidlinger, executive vice president of production and business affairs, will oversee the production on behalf of TWC. Jean Doumanian Productions vice president production and development Patrick Daly will liaise with TWC on August: Osage County.
Scheidlinger negotiated on behalf of TWC, George Sheanshang negotiated on behalf of Doumanian, Traxler, Richards and Frankel.
