Deadline is reporting that Ben Foster (Hell or High Water) has signed on for the title role in Harry Haft, a fact-based drama from director Barry Levinson (Paterno), which is based upon the Alan Scott Haft novel Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano.
The film tells the true story of Haft, “a boxer who survived Auschwitz by being forced to fight fellow prisoners in the concentration camps in ghoulish gladiatorial battles. If he won, he got fed and allowed to live long enough for the next bout, while the 76 opponents he beat were led to their deaths in the camps. Haunted by the memories and guilt over the price of survival, Haft attempts to use high-profile fights against boxing legends like Rocky Marciano as a way to rediscover a reason to live, and to again find the woman he fell in love with before the war.”
Harry Haft is based on the Black List script from Justine Juel Gillmer, and is being produced by Levinson alongside Matt Leshem (The Shallows), Aaron L. Gilbert (The Front Runner), Scott Pardo (Hope & A Little Sugar) and Jason Sosnoff (Paterno). Production is set to get underway in February.
Originally published November 8, 2018. Updated November 7, 2018.
