A dispute between Harvey Weinstein and producer Scott Rudin over the release of the Weinstein Co.’s The Reader has been resolved. The two men issued the following joint statement Sunday announcing that the film will open December 12:
“We are issuing this statement together to emphasize the fact that we are in complete agreement on the date we have chosen to release The Reader. Working together, we developed a plan to extend the post-production schedule in order to give Stephen Daldry the additional time he needs to successfully complete the film in time to release it on December 12, 2008.”
In a simultaneously released statement, director Stephen Daldry said the following:
“On their own, Scott and Harvey spent this weekend working together to find a way to accommodate my needs so that I may fulfill my obligation to the studio without compromising my vision for the film. I am thrilled and relieved that we have all found a way forward to work together to bring The Reader to theaters this year.”
The disagreement was over giving Daldry the time he needed to meet the delivery date of his first cut.
While Dec. 12 was the distributor’s target date, the original post-production schedule was “physically impossible.” Daldry was originally scheduled to deliver his first cut Oct. 5.
A haunting love story based on the best-selling novel of the same name, “The Reader” is set in postwar Germany and tells the story of a man whose life has been shaped by an illicit affair with a passionate, elusive older woman during his youth. Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes star.
