EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures has acquired domestic distribution rights to Tinker, Tailor, Solder, Spy, the Tomas Alfredson-directed adaptation of the John Le Carre novel that stars Gary Oldman, freshly minted Oscar winner Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong and Ciaran Hinds. The rights were held by Studiocanal, and the film was produced by Working Title. Universal is eyeing a November or December release for the picture, which is in post production. Script was written by Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan.

The project was one of the hottest titles shopped in Berlin, where buyers watched several minutes of footage and read the script for Afredson’s follow-up to Let the Right One In. I’m told that Universal, through its first look deal with Working Title partners Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, had a first look that it initially didn’t exercise. Then the picture got hot, with The Weinstein Company and Summit Entertainment chasing it hard. I’ve heard the bidding was in the vicinity of $5 million for domestic rights before Universal swooped in and took the project off the table. Studiocanal, which fully financed the film, will distribute in the UK, France and Germany and is handling international sales throughout the rest of the world. Bevan and Fellner produce with Robyn Slovo, with Liza Chasin, Le Carre, Peter Morgan, Douglas Urbanski and Debra Hayward exec producing.

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Tom Hardy is a hot commodity these days. After his charismatic performance in Inception, it seems like everybody wants a piece! The British actor has just landed a new gig replacing Michael Fassbender in the film Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. According to a casting piece in The Daily Mail via The Playlist, Fassbender is busy shooting next year’s X-Men First Class and can’t commit to the project — cue Hardy.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy sounds like a film about a guy with way too many jobs but it’s actually a Cold War-set thriller. It tells “the story of a British Intelligence operative whose task is to delve into the world of Cold War espionage and root out a Soviet mole in the Circus, the highest echelon in the British Intelligence Services.”

Hardy will play Tricky’ Ricky Tarr, a British operative acquaintance who goes up against an old school, anti-James Bond type played by Gary Oldman. The film is based off the novel written by John Le Carre, which was adapted for the screen by Peter Morgan. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is directed by Tomas Alfredsson and co-stars Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ciaran Hinds, and Jared Harris.

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