Harrison Ford, Anthony Hopkins to star in “Official Secrets”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Harrison Ford and Anthony Hopkins are attached to star opposite Natalie Dormer, Paul Bettany and Martin Freeman in Official Secrets, The Hollywood Reporter said.

The film centers on a young British intelligence officer who became famous when leaking information to the press, alleging that the NSA was engaging in illegal activities in order to pressure the UN Security Council to approve a resolution of war against Iraq in 2003.

UTA Independent Film Group packaged the project and represents domestic rights. The Solution Entertainment Group is financing and will introduce the project to foreign buyers at the upcoming European Film Market, held in conjunction with the Berlin Film Festival.

Official Secrets is based on the book, The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Katharine Gun and the Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion.

In the lead up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Katharine Gun (Dormer), a young British intelligence officer, was arrested after leaking classified information to Martin Bright (Bettany), a reporter at The London Observer. Her arrest made headlines around the world. In the film, Bright goes to great lengths to free Gun, only to find that both their lives are in jeopardy. Freeman plays The Observer's foreign affairs editor, while Hopkins will portray a retired UK general and Ford has been cast as a C.I.A. agent.

Justin Chadwick will direct from an adapted script by Sara and Gregory Bernstein. Chadwick's previous helming credits include Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and The Other Boleyn Girl.

Official Secrets is slated to begin principal photography in May in the UK.