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Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal is set to star in and produce the contemporary thriller WELCOME TO VIENNA for Focus Features, which has acquired Kevin Wignall’s upcoming novel To Die in Vienna, the Tracking Board has confirmed.
Gyllenhaal will play Freddie Makin, a civilian surveillance contractor in Vienna who has been watching a Chinese academic named Jiang Cheng for the past year. When Freddie interrupts a break-in at his apartment, the intruder escapes, only to return to try and kill him. Now Freddie has to figure out who is trying to kill him and why, all while he tries to hide the past that he’s been running away from.
Gyllenhaal will produce Vienna alongside Riva Marker for Nina Stories, whose Annie Marter will serve as an executive producer. The book will be published by Thomas & Mercer in June, and let’s hope its title isn’t a spoiler.
Gyllenhaal recently produced and starred in Stronger, which was my favorite film of 2017, and one that was criminally overlooked last awards season. He next stars opposite Carey Mulligan in Paul Dano’s Wildlife, and alongside Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly in The Sisters Brothers. Gyllenhaal is currently filming Dan Gilroy’s next movie, and he’s also attached to star alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in a thriller from director Luca Guadagnino.
Gyllenhaal is represented by WME and Bloom Hergott, while bestselling author Wignall is repped by ICM Partners and Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents. Deadline broke the news.
Jeff Sneider | Editor in Chief
