Frozen star Josh Gad has signed on to star in the Holocaust-set biopic Gerron’s Last Film from British director Simon Curtis (Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, Woman in Gold).
Gad will play Kurt Gerron, one of the most famous Jewish actors and directors in pre-Nazi Germany who, unlike his friends Marlene Dietrich and Fritz Lang, refused to leave the country when Hitler came to power.
Ultimately sent to the Jewish ghetto in Theresienstadt (Terezin), Gerron was recognized by the camp commander, a huge fan of his work, and forced to make a propaganda film about the ghetto, to supposedly show the “humane” conditions Jews were living in under Nazi rule.
“This is a film that will be universally spoken about and responded to,” Gad said in a statement. “These themes are more relevant today than they have been in decades. I got into this industry to make movies that are important, that can create conversations and I strongly know in my heart that this is one of those films.”
Added Curtis: “The outstanding script has attracted the perfect leading man in Josh Gad. I feel very passionately about telling Kurt Gerron’s remarkable story which offers so many exciting creative opportunities to a film maker. It demonstrates how vital the arts are in dark times and its themes are becoming more essential every day.”
Curtis, whose credits include the Oscar-nominated My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017), will direct from a script by Ehud Lavski (Gunpowder Milkshake) and Alon Gur Arye (Mossad). Talia Kleinhendler and Osnat Handelsman Keren of Pie Films, producers of the Oscar-nominated The Lost Daughter, and The Kindergarten Teacher, as well as Maggie Gyllenhaa’s upcoming Frankenstein adaptation The Bride!, are producing through their newly launched U.K. Office.
Rocket Science is handling international sales and will be introducing the project to buyers at next month’s European Film Market in Berlin. CAA Media Finance and WME independent are co-repping domestic rights. Gerron’s Last Film is set to begin shooting in the third quarter of this year.
Gad recently wrapped production on Spaceballs 2, which he wrote and produced and stars in alongside Mel Brooks. He also lent his voice to the character of Paul Moledebrandt in Disney’s blockbuster animated sequel Zootopia 2. Curtis is fresh off the success of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, which grossed more than $100 million worldwide.
Gad is represented by CAA and Range Media Partners. Curtis is represented by Independent Talent Group, UTA and Anonymous Content, Pie Films are represented by WME and Hannah Leader.
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