“Richard Jewell” is a story based on actual events. It exemplifies the dangers of reporting unproven theories as fact and how it distorts the truth. Oscar-winner Clint Eastwood directed from a screenplay by Oscar nominee Billy Ray (“Captain Phillips”). It is inspired by the Vanity Fair article “American Nightmare—The Ballad of Richard Jewell” by Marie Brenner.

“There is a bomb in Centennial Park. You have thirty minutes”. Richard Jewell is introduced as the security guard who aspires to become part of the law enforcement. He reports finding the device at the 1996 Atlanta bombing—becoming a hero whose prompt actions save countless lives.

Within days, Richard becomes the FBI’s main suspect. He is hounded by the press and public alike. His life is torn apart. Desperately seeking out independent, anti-establishment attorney Watson Bryant, Jewell professes his innocence. But Bryant finds he is in over his head. The attorney fights the combined powers of the FBI, GBI, and APD in his attempts to clear his client’s name while trying to protect Richard from trusting the very people trying to destroy him.

The movie features Oscar winners Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) as Watson Bryant and Kathy Bates (“Misery,” TV’s “American Horror Story”) as Richard’s mom, Bobi. Jon Hamm (“Baby Driver”) is the lead FBI investigator; Olivia Wilde (“Life Itself”) as Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Kathy Scruggs. Paul Walter Hauser (“I, Tonya”) stars as Richard Jewell. Eastwood also produced under his Malpaso banner, alongside Tim Moore, Jessica Meier, Kevin Misher, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson, and Jonah Hill.

Richard Jewell will be released nationwide in January 2020 by Warner Bros. Pictures