Mar 29, 2024
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Producers of TIFF film settle with IRA informant

The creators of the controversial Toronto International Film Festival selection “Fifty Dead Men Walking” have reached a settlement with the security agent who has complained that the movie is not an accurate portrayal of his life.

Former IRA infiltrator Martin McGartland and the makers of the Canadian-U.K. co-production agreed to a settlement worth $37,500, the film’s director Kari Skogland said Tuesday in an interview with The Canadian Press.

The settlement also includes changes to the film.

“He’s a scrapper and he wanted to make sure that we knew what he was concerned with. So we listened and we heard, and we came to a settlement,” Skogland said.

The pact means that the film – starring Jim Sturgess, Ben Kingsley, Rose McGowan and Canadian Kevin Zegers – is expected to make its gala premiere on Wednesday night without any protests from McGartland.

He had initially threatened to come out of hiding to protest the premiere and confront the filmmakers while they walked the red carpet.

McGartland, who was given a new identity after being discovered as a mole, had issues with several scenes in the film because he said that they were either completely made up or strayed from the truth.

The film is inspired by McGartland’s 1997 book of the same name. Sturgess, known for his roles in “Across the Universe” and “21,” plays the British spy.

Skogland said she reworked some scenes of the film in response to McGartland’s complaints, and that he was happy with the new version.

“They were small, and they were throughout,” she said of the changes.

“He saw the final picture and decided that we had addressed his concerns.”

The latest version includes disclaimers stating that some of the scenes and characters have been changed.

“The story was inspired by a true story and based on a true story, but at the end of the day there were many other characters,” Skogland said.

“I had to fictionalize a whole bunch of it because I was talking about real people.”

The settlement comes after months of fiery accusations and intense negotiations between the one-time informant and London-based production house HandMade Films, which co-financed the movie.

McGartland first began voicing his concern over the movie in May during the Cannes film festival as “Fifty Dead Men Walking” was being shopped around for distributors.

With threat of litigation in the air, many international buyers were reluctant to pick up the rights to the project.

The film is to be released by TVA Films in Canada. No date has been set.

Source: Toronto Star

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Headline, Industry News

Producers of TIFF film settle with IRA informant

The creators of the controversial Toronto International Film Festival selection “Fifty Dead Men Walking” have reached a settlement with the security agent who has complained that the movie is not an accurate portrayal of his life.

Former IRA infiltrator Martin McGartland and the makers of the Canadian-U.K. co-production agreed to a settlement worth $37,500, the film’s director Kari Skogland said Tuesday in an interview with The Canadian Press.

The settlement also includes changes to the film.

“He’s a scrapper and he wanted to make sure that we knew what he was concerned with. So we listened and we heard, and we came to a settlement,” Skogland said.

The pact means that the film – starring Jim Sturgess, Ben Kingsley, Rose McGowan and Canadian Kevin Zegers – is expected to make its gala premiere on Wednesday night without any protests from McGartland.

He had initially threatened to come out of hiding to protest the premiere and confront the filmmakers while they walked the red carpet.

McGartland, who was given a new identity after being discovered as a mole, had issues with several scenes in the film because he said that they were either completely made up or strayed from the truth.

The film is inspired by McGartland’s 1997 book of the same name. Sturgess, known for his roles in “Across the Universe” and “21,” plays the British spy.

Skogland said she reworked some scenes of the film in response to McGartland’s complaints, and that he was happy with the new version.

“They were small, and they were throughout,” she said of the changes.

“He saw the final picture and decided that we had addressed his concerns.”

The latest version includes disclaimers stating that some of the scenes and characters have been changed.

“The story was inspired by a true story and based on a true story, but at the end of the day there were many other characters,” Skogland said.

“I had to fictionalize a whole bunch of it because I was talking about real people.”

The settlement comes after months of fiery accusations and intense negotiations between the one-time informant and London-based production house HandMade Films, which co-financed the movie.

McGartland first began voicing his concern over the movie in May during the Cannes film festival as “Fifty Dead Men Walking” was being shopped around for distributors.

With threat of litigation in the air, many international buyers were reluctant to pick up the rights to the project.

The film is to be released by TVA Films in Canada. No date has been set.

Source: Toronto Star

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Headline, Industry News

Producers of TIFF film settle with IRA informant

The creators of the controversial Toronto International Film Festival selection “Fifty Dead Men Walking” have reached a settlement with the security agent who has complained that the movie is not an accurate portrayal of his life.

Former IRA infiltrator Martin McGartland and the makers of the Canadian-U.K. co-production agreed to a settlement worth $37,500, the film’s director Kari Skogland said Tuesday in an interview with The Canadian Press.

The settlement also includes changes to the film.

“He’s a scrapper and he wanted to make sure that we knew what he was concerned with. So we listened and we heard, and we came to a settlement,” Skogland said.

The pact means that the film – starring Jim Sturgess, Ben Kingsley, Rose McGowan and Canadian Kevin Zegers – is expected to make its gala premiere on Wednesday night without any protests from McGartland.

He had initially threatened to come out of hiding to protest the premiere and confront the filmmakers while they walked the red carpet.

McGartland, who was given a new identity after being discovered as a mole, had issues with several scenes in the film because he said that they were either completely made up or strayed from the truth.

The film is inspired by McGartland’s 1997 book of the same name. Sturgess, known for his roles in “Across the Universe” and “21,” plays the British spy.

Skogland said she reworked some scenes of the film in response to McGartland’s complaints, and that he was happy with the new version.

“They were small, and they were throughout,” she said of the changes.

“He saw the final picture and decided that we had addressed his concerns.”

The latest version includes disclaimers stating that some of the scenes and characters have been changed.

“The story was inspired by a true story and based on a true story, but at the end of the day there were many other characters,” Skogland said.

“I had to fictionalize a whole bunch of it because I was talking about real people.”

The settlement comes after months of fiery accusations and intense negotiations between the one-time informant and London-based production house HandMade Films, which co-financed the movie.

McGartland first began voicing his concern over the movie in May during the Cannes film festival as “Fifty Dead Men Walking” was being shopped around for distributors.

With threat of litigation in the air, many international buyers were reluctant to pick up the rights to the project.

The film is to be released by TVA Films in Canada. No date has been set.

Source: Toronto Star

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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