The Weinstein Co. has acquired worldwide distribution rights to Shane Salerno’s feature documentary “Salinger,” a bio of reclusive author J.D. Salinger.
TWC is planning a Sept. 6 theatrical launch after showing “Salinger” at film festivals.
Salerno produced the doc along with Buddy Squires and Deborah Randall. TWC disclosed Thursday that its execs closed the deal after they screened it on Feb. 23, the morning before the Academy Awards.
“Salinger” includes interviews with 150 subjects, including his friends, colleagues and members of his inner circle who have never spoken on the record before.
Additionally, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton, John Cusack, Danny DeVito, John Guare, Martin Sheen, David Milch, Robert Towne, Tom Wolfe, E.L. Doctorow, Gore Vidal, A. Scott Berg and Elizabeth Frank discuss Salinger’s influence on their lives, their work and the broader culture.
The film includes details about Salinger’s childhood, work methods, marriages, private world and the secrets he left behind after his death in 2010.
“I have the greatest respect for The Weinstein Company and the remarkable quality and consistency of the films they produce,” Salerno said. “I am honored to be working with them on what is, for me, an eight-year labor of love.”
Salerno has also co-authored an oral biography on Salinger with David Shields titled “The Private War of J.D. Salinger,” to be published by Simon & Schuster this year.
The deal was negotiated by David Glasser, Michal Steinberg, Mark Gooder and Jennifer Malloy for TWC, with Robert Offer and Shelby Weiser on behalf of the filmmakers. PBS holds U.S. TV rights for its American Masters series.
