Andy Garcia’s Cannes Premiere ‘Diamond’ Acquired By Sony Pictures Classics

Sony Pictures Classics is taking a majority of global rights to the Andy Garcia crime drama Diamond, which the Oscar nominee directed, wrote, produced and stars in. The film world-premiered back in May at the Cannes Film Festival. The contemporary Los Angeles Noir follows Joe Diamond (Garcia), a man out of time, and an urban legend with an emotional traumatic past. He has the uncanny ability to solve crimes that even the LAPD cannot – armed only with the savvy and dry humor reminiscent of the gumshoe detectives of that genre. Along with designing all the music for the film. Garcia co-wrote the original score with his longtime collaborator Arturo Sandoval. Both are Grammy and Latin Grammy award winners. “I’ve been working on this story for close to 20 years. This is not unusual for personal films in the independent world. Stories take time to unfold. They haunt you, as you continue to work on them. When they are ready, in their own time, the movie gods open the window of opportunity. Perhaps we exhaust them with our persistence and that great obstacle is overcome by the dream. So, they give up and bless you with this extraordinary cast to tell your story. Dreams sometimes do come true. As Joe Diamond the protagonist in our story states. ‘Dreams are a way of escaping your reality, unless those dreams are your reality,’” said Garcia. Sony Pictures Classics added, “One of those great Phillip Marlowe private eye crime mysteries of the past, full of surprises, filled with colorful, rich characters, played to the hilt by a stellar cast led by Andy Garcia, Vicki Krieps, Brendan Fraser, Bill Murray, and Dustin Hoffman. Director Andy Garcia’s years in the making labor of love is finally here. Audiences will love it.” The pic’s cast also includes Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread, Corsage), Oscar winner Brendan Fraser (The Whale, upcoming Rental Family), Rosemarie DeWitt (La La Land, Rachel Getting Married), Oscar nominee Bill Murray (Lost in Translation, The French Dispatch), two-time Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man, Kramer vs. Kramer), Academy Award nominee Demián Bichir (A Better Life, The Hateful Eight), Danny Huston (Succession, The Constant Gardener), LaTanya Richardson Jackson (The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey), Yul Vazquez (Severance, The Outsider), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2), and Rachel Ticotin (The Act, Man on Fire). A CineSon production (Garcia’s Production Co), the film was produced by Jai Stefan for Shrink Media, Frank Mancuso Jr. for FGM Entertainment and Paul Soriano from Black Cap Pictures / TEN17P. Black Cap Pictures / Nexis Entertainment financed the film and will serve as EPs led by Simon Heo and Nikki Romero, with Soriano also serving as producer. Executive producers include John Ahn, Wendy Lee, and Nino Cuccinello. For Oscura Film, Marco Vicini, and Fernando Tsai. The deal was negotiated between Sony Pictures Classics and CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers, with The Veterans overseeing international rights. The only rights not part of the Sony Pictures Classics deal are France, Germany, Italy and CIS. The pic is 82% fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.