Clint Eastwood’s ‘Richard Jewell’ to premiere at AFI FEST

The based on a true story film follows the path of Eastwood’s Oscar-winning blockbuster American Sniper

AFI announced today that the World Premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures’ Richard Jewell, directed and produced by AFI Life Achievement Award recipient and Academy Award^®-winning filmmaker Clint Eastwood, will bow at a Gala at AFI FEST 2019 presented by Audi. Written by Academy Award^® nominee Billy Ray, the film stars Academy Award^®winners Sam Rockwell and Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde, and Paul Walter Hauser as Richard Jewell. The Gala will take place on Wednesday, November 20 at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre.

“Clint Eastwood is an American icon. It is an honor for AFI to premiere this next chapter in his storied career – one that continues to enrich the nation’s cultural legacy with undeniable impact.”

Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO

Based on true events, Richard Jewell is a story of what happens when what is reported as fact obscures the truth. “There is a bomb in Centennial Park. You have thirty minutes.” The world is first introduced to Richard Jewell (Hauser) as the security guard who reports finding the device at the 1996 Atlanta bombing – his report making him a hero who swift actions save countless lives.  But within days, the law enforcement wannabe becomes the FBI’s number one suspect, vilified by press and public alike, his life ripped apart. Reaching out to independent, anti-establishment attorney Watson Bryant (Rockwell), Jewell staunchly professes his innocence. But Bryant finds he is out of his depth as he fights the combined powers of the FBI, GBI and APD to clear his client’s name, while keeping Richard from trusting the very people trying to destroy him.

Based on the Vanity Fair article “American Nightmare—The Ballad of Richard Jewell” by Marie Brenner, Richard Jewell is produced by Eastwood under his Malpaso banner, alongside Tim Moore, Jessica Meier, Kevin Misher, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson and Jonah Hill. Warner Bros. Pictures Presents a Malpaso Production, an Appian Way/Misher Films/75 Year Plan Production, Richard Jewell. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Richard Jewell will be released in theaters on December 13, 2019.

AFI FEST 2019 takes place November 14-21, 2019, at historic theaters in Los Angeles. Screenings, Galas, and other events will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres and the Hollywood Roosevelt and will open on Thursday, November 14 with the World Premiere of AFI Conservatory alumna Melina Matsoukas’s Queen & Slim and will close with the World Premiere of George Nolfi’s The Banker on Thursday, November 21. The full festival lineup and schedule will be unveiled later this month.