Sony acquires rights to Hugh Jackman's Gary Hart biopic The Front Runner, directed by Jason Reitman

Sony Pictures has acquired the worldwide distribution rights for a film about Gary Hart’s 1988 presidential bid. The studio said on Thursday that it will release The Front Runner in the fall to coincide with both awards season and the election. Hugh Jackman is starring as Hart in the film from director Jason Reitman. The film will chronicle the politician’s rise and fall as an extramarital affair with a woman named Donna Rice became tabloid fodder and a national scandal. [caption id=“attachment_4465871” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Hugh Jackman (R) will portray Gary Hart (L) in The Front Runner. AP[/caption] Reitman says he can’t wait for audiences to see Jackman’s transformation into the complex figure. Reitman calls Jackman’s performance “humanist.” “Having grown up wandering around the Columbia lot as a kid, it is a particular thrill to bring The Front Runner back home to the first studio I can remember. I cannot wait for movie goers to see Hugh’s humanist transformation into one of the more complicated political figures of our time," Reitman told Variety. The screenplay is based on journalist Matt Bai’s 2014 book All the Truth is Out. It was co-written by Reitman, Bai and former Hillary Clinton press secretary Jay Carson. _Also read: Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson join Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana in animated film Missing Link_ With inputs from AP