Director Andrew Haigh is following his 2023 smash All of Us Strangers with a new true crime story. Haigh’s Belly of the Beast will now star Ben Stiller and Colin Farrell, who have been long-rumored for the film.
Andrew Haigh and Alexis Jolly adapted the script from Jerome Loving’s nonfiction book, Jack and Norman: A State-Raised Convict and the Legacy of Norman Mailer’s ‘The Executioner’s Song.’
Per Deadline, mk2 films, UTA Independent Film Group, CAA Media Finance, and Village Roadshow Pictures have all boarded sales for a Cannes launch.
According to the official synopsis, the feature will tell the timely and true story of the unlikely friendship between notorious literary titan Norman Mailer (Stiller) and his protégé, Jack Henry Abbott (Farrell).
Bolstered by Mailer’s mentorship, Abbott is paroled after nearly a decade in prison; he gains instant popularity among the literary elite but struggles with life on the outside. When Mailer, creatively frustrated and envious of Jack’s rising star, turns his back on his infamous protégé, Jack spirals – committing an unforgivable act of violence in a New York City diner just six weeks after his release.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be working with Andrew Haigh, a filmmaker we’ve long admired, on Belly of the Beast. With its gripping real-life drama and the thrilling on-screen partnership of Ben Stiller and Colin Farrell, set against the vibrant backdrop of 1980s New York, it promises to be an electrifying experience. Andrew Haigh’s nuanced approach will delve into the story’s intricate contradictions and complexities,” said mk2 films’ Managing Director Fionnuala Jamison.
