Richard Jewell, directed by AFI Life Achievement Award recipient and Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Clint Eastwood, will World Premiere 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.
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.
“Clint Eastwood is an American icon,”said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “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.”
Richard Jewell will be released in theaters on December 13, 2019.