Gary Oldman
Working Title and StudioCanal today confirmed the casting for the eagerly anticipated shoot of Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which will commence principal photography at the end of September.
Written by Peter Straughan and Bridget O’Connor the film is an adaptation of John le Carré’s bestselling novel of the same name and will star Gary Oldman as George Smiley with Benedict Cumberbatch, David Dencik, Colin Firth, Stephen Graham, Tom Hardy, Jared Harris, Ciarán Hinds, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Roger Lloyd Pack and Mark Strong.
This new feature film adaptation of le Carré’s seminal and best-selling Cold War spy novel is being produced by Working Title’s co-chairmen Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner and Robyn Slovo. The executive producers are Debra Hayward, Liza Chasin, Douglas Urbanski, Peter Morgan and John le Carré.
Tim Bevan said "Tomas is one of the most gifted directors in the industry and we are really looking forward to working with him on such an exciting project.
The timing is right for a big screen version of le Carré's classic novel. It's great for us to have Tomas onboard who has assembled a stellar cast and will bring a unique vision to the material."
Set in the 1970s, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy finds George Smiley, a recently retired MI6 agent, doing his best to adjust to a life outside the secret service. However, when a disgraced agent reappears with information concerning a mole at the heart of the Circus, Smiley is drawn back into the murky field of espionage.
Tasked with investigating which of his trusted former colleagues has chosen to betray him and their country, Smiley narrows his search to four suspects - all experienced, urbane, successful agents - but past histories, rivalries and friendships make it far from easy to pinpoint the man who is eating away at the heart of the British establishment.
The film is fully financed by StudioCanal, who will release it first in the UK through its subsidiary Optimum Releasing and then in France and in Germany through Kinowelt, a StudioCanal company as well. Optimum will release the film in the UK on September 16, 2011. StudioCanal will handle international sales for the rest of the world.
"We are very happy to continue our 10 year partnership with Working Title with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Tomas Alfredson is one of the most exciting directors working today and it’s a pleasure for all of us at StudioCanal to be part of bringing his exciting vision of John le Carré's classic spy thriller to the screen with such an exceptional cast." said Olivier Courson, Chairman and CEO of StudioCanal.
Swedish director Tomas Alfredson’s critically acclaimed Let The Right One In received numerous awards and accolades across the globe. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy reunites him with director of photography, Hoyte van Hoytema, and editor, Dino Jonsäter.
Other members of the Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy creative team include the production designer Maria Djurkovic, costume designer Jacqueline Durran, and hair and make-up designer Felicity Bowring.
Filming will take place in London and on location in Budapest and Istanbul.