“Gathering of Saints” film in works with “Foxcatcher” exec producer

PanARMENIAN.Net - Catch & Release Films is developing a movie based on the book “A Gathering of Saints: A True Story of Money, Murder and Deceit” about a pair of 1985 bombing murders in Utah, Variety reports.

Catch & Release principals Tom Heller and Frank Hall Green will produce the movie through their shingle, which acquired the rights to “A Gathering of Saints” from New York Times reporter Robert Lindsay, who also authored “The Falcon and the Snowman.”

Heller executive produced “Foxcatcher” after discovering the source material for the story in 2004, acquiring life rights to Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz and bringing the material to director Bennett Miller. He also has credits on “Precious,” “127 Hours,” “Win-Win” and “Mud.”

“A Gathering of Saints” investigates the three separate bombings, which killed two individuals and seriously injured a third, by Mark Hofmann — a disillusioned Mormon who used his talents to blackmail the Mormon Church by releasing forgeries of documents about the early history of the Latter Day Saints movement. He constructed the bombs when his schemes began to collapse, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to five years to life in prison.

Green is a longtime independent film producer, writer and director and his directorial debut “Wildlike” was an official selection at more than 175 film festivals. It was produced by Christine Vachon, Killer Films and Tandem Pictures and stars Ella Purnell, Bruce Greenwood, Brian Geraghty, Josh Leonard and Ann Dowd.

Green is also producing “Remittance” for writing/directing team Joel Fendelman and Patrick Daly, and the documentary “Getting Naked,” about New York City Burlesque, directed by James Lester.

The news about “A Gathering of Saints” was first reported by the Tracking Board.