Lionsgate Picks Up Al Pacino-Anthony Hopkins Thriller Beyond Deceit (Exclusive)

June 05, 2024

Lionsgate has acquired North American rights to Beyond Deceit, the legal thriller that marks the directorial debut of screenwriter Shintaro Shimosawa.

The movie, currently in production in New Orleans, features a cast led by Josh Duhamel that also includes Al Pacino, Anthony Hopkins, Malin Akerman, Alice Eve, Julia Stiles and Byung-hun Lee.

Release plans were not revealed, but a potential first-quarter 2016 opening is being eyed.

Deceit tells of an ambitious young lawyer (Duhamel) who takes on a big case against a ruthless executive of a pharmaceutical company (Hopkins), only to find himself drawn into a murder case in which he is the prime suspect.

Adam Mason and Simon Boyes (The Hangman) wrote the original draft of screenplay, which was originally set up at Skydance Productions. Shimosawa did a rewrite.

The film is being produced by Ellen S. Wander with William DeLaney co-producing. Scott Willmann will serve as the line producer.

Barry Brooker, Stan Wertlieb and Chris Brown are the executive producers, and Ryan Black is the co-executive producer.

The project was brought into the studio by Brooker and Wertlieb.

Shimosawa is repped by WME and Circle of Confusion.

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