The film version of the Olivier Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated play Giant, starring John Lithgow as author Roald Dahl, is set to hit the big screen in the fall.
Recorded at the Harold Pinter Theater in London with Lithgow, Aya Cash, Elliott Levy and Rachel Stirling, “Giant” will be shown in cinemas in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and select international territories starting November 19th.
“Giant” revolves around a 1983 scandal in which Dahl is forced to choose between risking his reputation or publicly apologizing after writing a book review that received backlash for being anti-Semitic. The Broadway production was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Lithgow, and Best Actress for Cash. Written by Mark Rosenblatt and directed by Nicholas Hytner.
“In my 53-year, 25-performance career on Broadway, I have rarely experienced anything like the audience reaction I feel every night at ‘Giant,'” Lithgow said. “Mark Rosenblatt has written a play of extraordinary intelligence and humanity. With each performance, you feel the audience grappling with the questions in real time. This is the unique power of the best theater. We’re thrilled that our work will reach theaters around the world and that even more people will be able to experience the urgency, impact and emotional power of this story.”
“Giant” joins a slew of Broadway productions preserved on film and distributed by companies including Focus Features, Sony Pictures Classics, Disney Plus, Apple TV+ and Bleecker Street, including “Six,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Hamilton,” “Come From Away” and “Waitress.”
The producers of “Giant” expressed their appreciation for “the unique power of live theater to change perspectives and connect audiences to a common experience.”
Rosenblatt added: “When I started writing ‘Giant’, I never dreamed it would be seen by so many people, at the Royal Court, in the West End, and now on Broadway. It’s dizzying, at least for me, that this play, and the wonderful performances of this exquisite cast, will be experienced by even more audiences around the world with a new kind of immediacy and intimacy, up close in the cinema.” That’s surprising. ”
