Sony Pictures Classics to release Stanley Tucci's 'Final Portrait'

May 20 (UPI) -- Sony Pictures Classics says it has acquired the North American rights to writer-director Stanley Tucci's Final Portrait from Riverstone Pictures.

Starring Geoffrey Rush, Armie Hammer, Clémence Poésy, Tony Shalhoub and Sylvie Testud, the movie had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Set in 1964, it is the story of "the touching and offbeat friendship between American writer and art-lover James Lord and Alberto Giacometti, as seen through Lord's eyes and revealing unique insight into the beauty, frustration, profundity and sometimes the chaos of the artistic process," a press release said.

"Giacometti's work and life and Lord's poignant memoir have fascinated me for years. To finally bring my adaptation to the screen with this extraordinary cast and crew has been indeed a pleasure and to have Sony Classics distributing is a great honor," Tucci said in a statement.

"Audiences everywhere will embrace what Stanley Tucci has done here. He has made a remarkable film about the artistic process of the great painter and sculptor Giacometti, with a stunning cast led by Geoffrey Rush. We are thrilled to be involved," added Sony Pictures Classics.