Well, Justin Chadwick’s Official Secrets just got a whole lot more exciting, as the project has added Harrison Ford, Natalie Dormer and Paul Bettany to its cast. Based on the best-selling novel The Spy Who Tried To Stop A War: Katherine Gun and The Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion,” principal photography is set to get underway on the film this May in the UK.
With a script by Sara and Gregory Bernstein, and Elizabeth Fowler overseeing producing duties, Official Secrets is shaping up to be a pretty hot project, especially now that those three aforementioned talents have joined the film, where they’ll star alongside the already cast Martin Freeman and Anthony Hopkins.
For more information, check out the official plot synopsis below:
In the run up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Katharine Gun (Dormer), a young British intelligence officer reveals a secret illegal NSA spy operation against the UN Security Council designed to ensure passage of a resolution for war to Martin Bright (Bettany) a reporter at the British newspaper, The London Observer. Katharine’s arrest following the leak makes headlines around the world. In an attempt to gain the evidence to free Katharine, Martin unearths the shocking plot which puts both Katharine and Martin’s lives in great jeopardy. Martin Freeman will be playing Peter Edwards, the foreign affairs editor at The Observer, while Anthony Hopkins is playing a retired UK general, and Ford, a CIA agent.
Chadwick is primarily a TV director who in recent years has tried his hand at feature films. His last effort, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom was an impressive outing that featured some great work from leading man Idris Elba. The director also has Tulip Fever in the can, which stars Christoph Waltz and Alicia Vikander and is being set up as a possible awards contender for later this year.
While Official Secrets is a far cry from both of those movies, it will be nice to see the director step outside of his comfort zone a bit and helm what sounds like an intriguing thriller. Plus, with such an incredible cast assembled, it’s hard to see how he can go wrong.
Tell us, after hearing all this, has Official Secrets shot to the top of your most anticipated list yet? Let us know below.
