reported by Jessica C. Marlin, CyberScreenwriter.com

Columbia Pictures' "All the King's Men" will be released nationally on September 22, 2006, it was announced today by Jeff Blake, Vice Chairman Sony Pictures Entertainment and Chairman, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group.

Based on Robert Penn Warren's 1946 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, All the King's Men is a classic of American literature that tells the story of an idealistic man of the people who soon becomes corrupted by success and caught between dreams of service and an insatiable lust for power.

With a screenplay written and directed by Zaillian, who received an Academy Award(R) for his adaptation of "Schindler's List," "All The King's Men" features an all-star cast including Oscar(R) winner Sean Penn ("Mystic River"), Jude Law ("Closer"), Kate Winslet ("Finding Neverland"), James Gandolfini ("The Sopranos"), Mark Ruffalo ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"), Patricia Clarkson ("Pieces of April") and Academy Award(R) winner Anthony Hopkins ("Silence of the Lambs").

While a uniquely American story, the message of "All the King's Men" is universal and very relevant today. It uses politics as a framework to delve into the more profound conflicts of human nature -- sin, guilt and redemption. Warren's novel was inspired by the career of Louisiana governor Huey P. Long and had a profound effect on contemporary literature, serving as a model for some of the best-selling political novels of the past half-century.

Zaillian received an Oscar(R) for his screenplay "Schindler's List," directed by Steven Spielberg. He was also nominated for "Awakenings" and "Gangs of New York." He has directed the films Searching for "Bobby Fischer" and "A Civil Action." Medavoy and Zaillian were teamed together for the writer's first produced screenplay, "The Falcon and the Snowman," which starred Penn.

Recommended Resources:

1) Indecent Exposure : A True Story of Hollywood and Wall Street by David Mcclintick

2) The Merchant Prince of Poverty Row: Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures by Bernard F. Dick

3) Fast Fade : David Puttnam, Columbia Pictures, and the Battle for Hollywood by Andrew Yule