Paul Bettany, Natalie Dormer, Martin Freeman, Anthony Hopkins And Harrison Ford Join OFFICIAL SECRETS

Paul Bettany (AVENGERS film series, IRON MAN film series), Natalie Dormer (THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy, The Forest, HBO’s ‘Game Of Thrones’), Martin Freeman (THE HOBBIT films, upcoming CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, SHERLOCK), Sir Anthony Hopkins and Harrison Ford have joined the espionage thriller OFFICIAL SECRETS which will be produced by Elizabeth Fowler (DEVIL’S KNOT).

Justin Chadwick (MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM, THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL) will direct the true story based on the best-selling book The Spy Who Tried To Stop A War: Katherine Gun and The Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion. The screenplay is written by Sara and Gregory Bernstein.

The Solution Entertainment Group’s Lisa Wilson and Myles Nestel are executive producing the feature film and are handling the financing and international sales at the upcoming European Film Market. UTA Independent Film Group packaged the project and represents domestic rights.

The film is slated to begin principal photography in May 2016 in the UK.

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. Freeman will be playing Peter Edwards, the foreign affairs editor at The Observer, while Hopkins is playing a retired UK general and Ford a CIA agent.

Paul Bettany most recently starred as Jarvis/Vision in the blockbuster Marvel films THE AVENGERS and IRON MAN and will reprise the role in the upcoming anticipated CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR for Marvel. Bettany previously starred opposite Kevin Spacey in Lionsgate’s MARGIN CALL and the Academy Award Best Picture winning film A BEAUTIFUL MIND directed by Ron Howard and starring Russell Crowe.

Natalie Dormer, known for her role as Margaery Tyrell in HBO’s Golden Globe nominated hit series ‘Game Of Thrones’, currently stars in Focus Features’ The Forest, and will next be seen in the upcoming Screen Gems thriller PATIENT ZERO opposite Stanley Tucci and Matt Smith, and directed by Stegan Ruzowitzky, slated for a September 2016 release. She most recently appeared in Lionsgate’s global box office hit THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy starring alongside Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth.

Martin Freeman will next appear in the upcoming Marvel film CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. He previously starred as Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY and THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG. Freeman was nominated for a Golden Globe Best Actor award for his starring role in FX’s series ‘Fargo’.

Justin Chadwick recently directed the upcoming TULIP FEVER starring Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz and Academy Award nominee Alicia Vikander, and to be released by The Weinstein Co. in 2016. Chadwick also directed The Weinstein Co.’s Academy Award nominated film MANDELA: LONG WALK TO starring Golden Globe nominee Idris Elba, and Columbia Pictures’ THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana.