LOS ANGELES — Sony Pictures has acquired the worldwide distribution rights for a film about Gary Hart’s 1988 presidential bid. The studio said Thursday that it will release “The Front Runner” in the fall to coincide with both awards season and the election.
Hugh Jackman is starring as Hart in the film from director Jason Reitman. The film will chronicle the politician’s rise and fall as an extramarital affair with a woman named Donna Rice became tabloid fodder and a national scandal.
Reitman says he can’t wait for audiences to see Jackman’s transformation into the complex figure. Reitman calls Jackman’s performance “humanist.”
The screenplay is based on journalist Matt Bai’s 2014 book “All the Truth is Out.” It was co-written by Reitman, Bai and former Hillary Clinton press secretary Jay Carson.
