Weinstein Company Acquires Rights To THE IRON LADY Starring Meryl Streep As Margaret Thatcher

In what’s sure to open during this year’s Oscar season, The Weinstein Company has emerged with U.S. distribution rights to THE IRON LADY, the Pathe pic that stars Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher. According to Deadline, The Weinstein Company partnered with Ron Burkle and his Yucaipa Company on aquiring the rights, with Alliance distributing the film in Canada.

Weinstein was executive producer on THE KING’S SPEECH. The film won 4 Oscars at the 83rd Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Written by award-winning writer Abi Morgan (Sex Traffic, Brick Lane, White Girl), directed by Phyllida Lloyd CBE (Mamma Mia) and produced by Damian Jones (The History Boys, Adulthood). The film will be executive produced by Francois Ivernel and Cameron McCracken for Pathe, by Tessa Ross for Film4 and by Adam Kulick for Goldcrest.

THE IRON LADY tells the compelling story of Margaret Thatcher, a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman.

The film stars Academy Award-winners Meryl Streep as Lady Thatcher and Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher. Their young selves are played by Alexandra Roach and Harry Lloyd. The rest of the cast of family and friends, politicians and advisers, is made up of the very best of British acting talent, including: Olivia Colman, Nicholas Farrell, Susan Brown, Roger Allam, Anthony Head, Julian Wadham, Pip Torrens, Nick Dunning, Richard E Grant, David Westhead, Angus Wright and John Sessions.

The fllm is a Pathe, Film4, UK Film Council presentaton with the participation of Canal+ and Cine Cinema in associaton with Goldcrest Film Producton LLP of a DJ Films Producton.

Pathe will distribute the film in France; and Fox will distribute the film in the UK on behalf of Pathe. Pathe International will handle International sales.

The film already has a site where you can follow it’s progress at The Iron Lady Movie – Official Blog, on Facebook HERE and on Twitter HERE

ABOUT THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY
The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979. TWC also encompasses Dimension Films, the genre label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, which has released such popular franchises as SCREAM, SPY KIDS and SCARY MOVIE. Together TWC and Dimension Films have released a broad range of mainstream, genre and specialty films that have been commercial and critical successes, most recently Tom Hooper’s THE KING’S SPEECH, winner of four 2011 Academy Awards®, including Best Picture; Derek Cianfrance’s Academy Award®-nominated BLUE VALENTINE; John Wells’ feature directorial debut, THE COMPANY MEN; Julian Schnabel’s MIRAL; and Wes Craven’s SCRE4M. Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as GRINDHOUSE; I’M NOT THERE; THE GREAT DEBATERS; VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA; THE READER; THE ROAD;  HALLOWEEN; THE PAT TILLMAN STORY; PIRANHA 3D; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS; A SINGLE MAN; and 2011 Golden Globe® Best Foreign Language Film nominee THE CONCERT. Upcoming releases include SPY KIDS 4, APOLLO 18, OUR IDIOT BROTHER, THE DETAILS and MY WEEK WITH MARILYN. Recently wrapping is I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT. Principal photography on COGAN’S TRADE, with Brad Pitt, finished on May 5, 2011 in New Orleans.