James Newton Howard is reuniting with director Edward Zwick on the upcoming biographical drama Pawn Sacrifice. The film is set at the height of the Cold War and tells the true story of U.S. chess prodigy Bobby Fischer and his epic faceoff against Russia’s Boris Spassky. Tobey Maguire is portraying Fischer while Liev Schreiber plays his archrival. Peter Saarsgard, Michael Stuhlbarg, Lily Rabe and Sophie Nelisse are co-starring. Steven Knight (Eastern Promises, Dirty Pretty Things, Locke) jas written the screenplay. Maguire is also producing the project with Gail Katz (The Perfect Storm, Air Force One, Outbreak). Howard has previously collaborated with Zwick on Blood Diamond, Defiance and Love and Other Drugs. Pawn Sacrifice is currently in post-production and is expected to premiere later this year.
Howard also has the fantasy adventure Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie & Elle Fanning coming up later this month. He has also scored the thriller Cut Bank starring Liam Hemsworth, John Malkovich & Teresa Palmer. The composer will also return to score the two final installments in The Hunger Games series. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and Part 2 are directed by Francis Lawrence who helmed last year’s Catching Fire and also worked together with Howard on I Am Legend and Water for Elephants. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci and Elizabeth Banks return for the series finale. Mockingjay – Part 1 is set to be released on November 21, 2014 and Part 2 is scheduled for a release on November 20, 2015.
