Alan Turing biopic: US rights bought by Harvey Weinstein
By Sam Rigby
The US rights for Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game have been acquired by Harvey Weinstein.
The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing, with Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode in supporting roles.
Deadline reports that The Weinstein Company paid $7 million (£4.3m) for the film, which focuses on Turing’s involvement in the defeat of Nazi Germany by solving the Enigma Code.
The film will be distributed by Studio Canal in the UK.
Weinstein said: “Teddy Schwarzman and Morten Tyldum took a script that Bob [Weinstein] and I loved but were worried about its tone, because if you got it wrong one inch to the left or one inch to the right, you would have major problems.
“These guys got it so perfect. They did a better job than I ever could have. Benedict is unbelievable, and this is going to be a big year for Keira.
“We look at this as a major release, and we’re thrilled to have it.”
Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war.
He was later convicted of indecency when it emerged he was in a homosexual relationship, which was illegal in the UK in 1952. He was chemically castrated as an alternative to prison, before committing suicide in 1954.
Turing was issued a posthumous pardon by Queen Elizabeth II on December 24, 2013.