Tim Fehlbaum and John Palmer are bringing a new approach to one of the most shocking events in history in September 5th. The true-story thriller marks an interesting departure from Fehlbaum's previous work in the sci-fi genre with 2011's Hellwhich was produced by disaster genre vet Roland Emmerich, and 2021 Colognewhich was led by American StarNora Arnezeder and Dune: ProphecyIt's Sarah-Sofie Boussnina. For Palmer, on the other hand, the film continues his series of grounded stories with Sean Penn. Flag Day and Asphalted City.
September 5th details the horrific events that actually took place during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, in which a group of eight Palestinian militants killed two members of the Israeli Olympic team and took nine others hostage. The film focuses primarily on Roone Arledge and the rest of the ABC Sports team, who struggle to shift their coverage from broadcast sports to live reporting on the hostage situation as it unfolds.
Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Peter Sarsgaard leads the ensemble September 5th cast as Roone, alongside The AgencyJohn Magaro, The Nevers'Ben Chaplin, Teachers' RoomLeonie Benesch, Zinedine Soualem, Corey Johnson, Georgina Rich, Rony Herman and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of PowerIt's Benjamin Walker. Having made its world premiere at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival, the film has already received widespread critical acclaim, currently sitting at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ahead of the film's limited release on December 13, TelaRant interviewed director Tim Fehlbaum and producer John Palmer about their chilling new film, September 5th. They reveal why this story needed to be told this way and why people should see it in theaters, despite detailing a heavy subject matter that is still relevant today.
The events of September 5th shaped journalism today
“Obviously, the legacy of this is still felt today in the way news is made and disseminated.”
ScreenRant: What was it about this real-life event that meant it needed to be made into a movie?
Tim Fehlbaum: I was aware of the events, of course, of what happened before we started this project. But I didn't know what an unprecedented situation the media was facing. Only when we started doing the research did we learn, for example, that it was the first Olympics broadcast live across the world via satellite. We also learned that even before this tragic thing happened, these Olympic Games were a turning point in the history of social media, because they were also the first Olympic Games on German soil since Hitler's Olympic Games in 1936, which went badly. used for factional propaganda.
Germany wanted to send a new image to the world, the image of a liberal Germany after the Second World War. And to do so, they set up a media apparatus never seen before. It was also the first time, for example, that locations were designed for optimal television coverage. So, suddenly, this entire apparatus had to switch from reporting on sports to reporting on this crisis. We think this is a really interesting premise and worth a movie.
John Palmer: Back then, ABC Sports, under Roone Arledge, who Peter Sarsgaard plays in the film, was known for changing the way sports reporting happened and getting into the inner lives and backgrounds of athletes. So in some ways, even though this was a sports team that was suddenly heading into uncharted territory, they were also somehow well positioned to tell the story in a way that was emotional and engaging, and in conjunction with this new technology . Obviously, the legacy of this is still felt today in the way news is made and disseminated.
There are a few reasons why viewers should see September 5th In cinemas
“…we also deliver good old-fashioned entertainment…”
What would you say to people who might be worried about the film being too heavy?
Tim Fehlbaum: Well, I think, especially for today's world, everyone has a camera and a TV in their pocket, right? Especially for today's audience. I find it interesting to see how, just over fifty years ago, for the first time, something like this was covered live on television. We hope this makes the public reflect on how we consume news today.
John Palmer: There's certainly weight to the film. I think in other ways it's also very exciting. It's fun. There are moments of humor. But I think what Tim is saying is a very important point, which is a shared responsibility that we all have. In this time of seismic change in our own world, geopolitically and globally, I think we all have to take these ethical questions into account at times. So hopefully with the weight we have also provided some good old fashioned entertainment and also some consciousness connection.
Tim Fehlbaum: I also want to say that all movies are also very much about what you don't see, right? I think this is the basic premise of the film. That these people, even though it's happening very close to them, they are inside that studio, and we are with them all the time inside that studio. The only window they have to the outside world is through their cameras. So it's also about what we see, really?
On September 5th
September 5 reveals the defining moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today. Set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, the film follows an American sports broadcast team who quickly adapted from sports reporting to live coverage of Israeli athletes taken hostage. Through this lens, September 5th offers a new perspective on the live broadcast seen globally by an estimated one billion people at the time.
At the center of the story is Geoff (John Magaro), an ambitious young producer who struggles to prove himself to his boss, legendary TV executive Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard). Together with German interpreter Marianne (Leonie Benesch) and his mentor Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), Geoff unexpectedly takes charge of the live coverage. As narratives change, time passes and conflicting rumors spread, with the hostages' lives at stake, Geoff faces difficult decisions while confronting his own moral compass.
Check out our others September 5th interviews here:
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Peter Sarsgaard and Ben Chaplin
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Leonie Benesch and John Magaro
Source: ScreenRant Plus