Sir Ben Kingsley will star opposite Josh Hutcherson in the upcoming political thriller Backstabbing for Beginners
Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley (The Walk, Iron Man 3) and Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games franchise, The Kids Are All Right) are set to star in the political thriller Backstabbing for Beginners, it was announced today by producers Lars Knudsen & Jay Van Hoy (Beginners, upcoming The Witch) of Parts & Labor, Malene Blenkov & Nikolaj Vibe Michelsen of Creative Alliance and Daniel Bekerman (The Witch) of Scythia Films. Backstabbing for Beginners will be directed by Per Fly (The Inheritance, Monica Z). Patrick Ryborn from Eyeworks scandi fiction AB is co-producing.
Inspired by Michael Soussan’s critically-acclaimed memoir, “Backstabbing for Beginners: My Crash Course in International Diplomacy,” the film tells the story of Michael (Hutcherson), a young idealist who lands his dream job as a program coordinator for the U.N.’s Oil for Food program. He is thrown into an already fraught post-war Iraq where government agents and power-hungry countries are circling Iraq’s oil reserves like sharks. He seeks answers from the one person he thinks he can trust, Pasha (Kingsley), his boss, a seasoned diplomat. The more Michael learns, however, the more he suspects a conspiracy at the highest level. The only way out will be to expose it all — risking his own life, his mentor’s career, and the life of the Kurdish woman he loves.
Backstabbing for Beginners is an official Danish – Canadian co-production with support from the Danish Film Institute, DR, the Swedish Film Institute, SVT and Nordisk Film & TV Fond as well as the Ontario Media Development Corporation. Houndstooth provided tax credit and debt financing for the film.
“From the very outset, we wanted to develop, finance and produce this film in a way that was innovative and new, a way for Scandinavian filmmakers to make films away from home on their terms. We have accomplished that with ‘Backstabbing for Beginners.’ With the invaluable support of the Danish Film Institute early on in the process to us now bringing on Houndstooth and Fortitude to round out our partners on this exciting and relevant political thriller,” says Parts & Labor’s Knudsen on behalf of the producers.
“Michael Soussan’s firsthand account of the dark underbelly of one of the world’s leading humanitarian organizations provides rich source material for Per Fly and Daniel Pyne who superbly capture the sharp and witty tone of the novel in their script. We couldn’t have asked for a better cast with The Hunger Games’ Josh Hutcherson who is a household name worldwide and Ben Kingsley, one of the best actors of our generation, who is consistently at the top of his game,” adds Fortitude’s Barnum.
Co-written by Daniel Pyne (The Manchurian Candidate, The Sum of All Fears) and Per Fly, Backstabbing for Beginners will begin principal photography in January 2016.
Kingsley and Hutcherson are serving as executive producers alongside Gregory Shockro from Houndstooth, Fortitude’s Barnum, Poa Strömberg from Eyeworks, Jacob Jørgensen from JJ Fim, Lars Tregart and Jeff Kalligheri from Waterstone.
Fortitude International, co-founded by Nadine de Barros, Robert Ogden Barnum and Daniel Wagner, is handling foreign rights and will launch sales at the upcoming American Film Market. UTA Independent Film Group and the producers arranged the financing. UTA Independent Film Group is representing US rights to the thriller. Entertainment One (eOne), meanwhile, has acquired all rights to Backstabbing for Beginners in Canada.
(Photo Credit: Fayesvision / Macguyver / WENN.com)
