‘September 5’ Interview: Tim Fehlbaum and Moritz Binder

Available on digital beginning February 4th is ‘September 5’, which has received a Best Original Screenplay nomination at the upcoming Academy Awards.

Directed by Tim Fehlbaum and co-written by Fehlbaum and Moritz Binder, the film details the hostage crisis at the 1972 Munich Olympics and stars Peter Sarsgaard (‘The Batman‘), John Magaro (‘Past Lives‘), Ben Chaplin (‘The Thin Red Line‘), Leonie Benesch (‘The Crown‘), and Benjamin Walker (‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘) as reporter Peter Jennings.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Oscar-nominated screenwriters Tim Fehlbaum and Moritz Binder about their work on ‘September 5’, being nominated for an Academy Award, their research and development of the screenplay, their writing process together, the choice to cast an actor to play Peter Jennings, Fehlbaum’s experience directing, and the bonus features available in the digital release.

Paramount Pictures’ ‘September 5’, the film that unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today, set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. the film that unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today, set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Moviefone: To begin with, congratulations to both of you on your Oscar nomination. How does it feel to be an Academy Award nominee?

Moritz Binder: It feels still like a dream, I have to say. I mean, when we found out, when we heard the nomination, we were overwhelmed with joy for that very second, and then I immediately thought, “Okay, maybe I have to sleep one night to realize it.” But I’m still waiting for that moment because this recognition is almost the biggest recognition you can get. Having your name, like our movie, among these other movies and these other people, people we deeply admire, that feels like a great honor, and we are very honored to be there.

MF: Tim, how does it feel to see your film celebrated in this way?

Tim Fehlbaum: I can say it’s a childhood dream coming true in a way, and it’s very exciting. We’re blessed that we also had the support of Paramount Pictures to give the movie that wide release and to give it the whole campaign. I also hope that, in a way, the nomination, also motivates people to see it in the theater also because it’s still out there, and I hope it helps to get some attention to the movie.

(L to R) Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard), Hank Hanson (Corey Johnson), Jacques Lesgardes (Zinedine Soualem), Geoff Mason (John Magaro), Carter (Marcus Rutherford), Gladys Deist (Georgina Rich), Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), Marianne Gebhard (Leonie Benesch) star in Paramount Pictures’ ‘September 5’ the film that unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today, set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

MF: Moritz, can you talk about joining forces with Tim to write this screenplay, and the research you did into the actual event?

MB: You must know that this was a kind of lucky moment. As a journalist, you would maybe call it reporter’s luck because we were broadly researching everything from police files to scientific books about politics, and we got deeper into the research, and we found out more about that crucial role the media played at that day. We were really interested in that because both of us, we are kind of people in the media, too, as filmmakers, and I come from a documentary background before that I was a TV journalist. So, I was really interested, or we both were really interested, in this special crucial moment of media history. Then we found Geoffrey Mason, the character now played by John Magaro, and we scheduled a Zoom meeting that was maybe set up for half an hour to talk to a source. But I think it lasted over two hours because we talked and he told us his story from his perspective, his 22 hours sitting in that room. It was so interesting and so thrillingly that we, after that meeting said, “Well, maybe this is not a source. Maybe this is the perspective of the movie.” Then we thought, for the first time, about not leaving this room for an entire movie.

MF: Tim, as a director and a writer, can you talk about the challenges of staying true to the facts while still telling an entertaining and compelling story?

TF: I mean, that’s the act of balance that we had to do at every step of the process, at the script writing stage, when shooting, and then also still up until editing. Interestingly, I would say this is also questions that the crew in our movie gets confronted with, you know? They want to stay true to the story, but sometimes they are like, “Nothing’s going on. What can we report on?” So, our credo was always that we tried to stay as truthful as possible. But as you said correctly, we also are telling a movie, and it was important for us to keep the audience engaged because that’s also what Geoffrey Mason told us about this 22-hour marathon of broadcasting felt. It was like this because it was so intense. So, we felt the movie must feel the same way. So, what we did, of course, is condense events. We are telling these 22 hours within 90 minutes, but also, we combine certain characters. So Geoffrey Mason is (a composite of) several professions that were done by several people in that room, or Leonie Benesch is also a combination of several stories of characters that we heard, because for us, it was also important that we have Germany’s state of mind in the historical context reflected in the movie. Or little things like, to give another example, we have that crucial scene in the moment where they think that the police called off the action because they were being filmed. From our research, we know that this is probably not the reason why the police called it off. It’s much more likely that they just were completely overwhelmed in a situation like this. But the police were there, and then we heard it from Geoffrey who worked there, “Tell them to turn off the cameras”, and they were so clear. Of course, we must have that in the movie. Of course, they themselves kept asking, “Oh, are we part of the reason why they failed now?”

Geoff Mason (John Magaro) stars in Paramount Pictures’ ‘September 5,’ the film that unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today, set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

MF: Moritz, can you talk about the actual writing process between you and Tim? How does it work?

MB: You must know that I got down the rabbit hole in research, and I tried to find all the details that really were interesting, and sometimes maybe I found too many details because the scenes got longer and longer. Tim is good at finding the core of the scene and keeping the rhythm of the movie. So, the thing that everybody is talking about now is that it feels like a thriller, and its fast pace. This is something that Tim always pushed for. Even the screenplay feels like a page turner. I think that was a great collaboration because I always tried to find details hidden in the research and providing them, and Tim always was aiming for the greater picture and the rhythm. That was a great experience.

MF: Moritz, can you talk about the choice to cast an actor as reporter Peter Jennings, yet use real footage of broadcaster Jim McKay, rather than casting an actor to play him as well? Was that choice made during the writing process or during pre-production?

MB: That was a script choice because we found in the research hidden between lines, for example, Roone Arledge’s biography, that there was some kind of tension between Roone Arledge and Peter Jennings at some certain points. For example, how they could name the perpetrators that day, for example, or should news take over. We thought that this is such a crucial discussion that we need it as a scene between the characters. So, we decided on a very early stage that we would cast Peter Jennings, but we would need the real Jim McKay for this. So that was kind of the choice that happened in there.

Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) in Paramount Pictures’ ‘September 5,’ the film that unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today, set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

TF: I think it’s a good question. An important part of the premise of the movie is that they were sports broadcasters that had to make the switch. So, of course, Peter Jennings was the only person from news there, so that they got confronted with that they’re maybe not experienced or trained to report on a situation like this, via a character that had to be there. So, it’s Peter Jennings. It was clear that Peter Jennings is a character. But I’m also so glad that we could license the original footage because, my theory is if we would have had McKay as an actor, then you would also start to be like, “I want to also see that guy’s story. He’s the person who must talk about it. I want to see what he struggles with, it’s just as important or as interesting as what the people in the control room are struggling with.” But since it is the original McKay, I hope that on a subconscious level at least, the audience is like, “Yeah, of course I don’t see this person because that’s the real footage, and this is a film about people behind the camera.”

MF: Finally, Tim, can you talk about the bonus features that can be found on the digital release?

TF: Oh, we have a lot of wonderful material. I’ve seen all of it. You see, especially also how big the effort was, the production designer, Julian R. Wagner, how they built a set based on original construction plans. You see interviews with the real Geoffrey Mason. That is, I think, interesting to see the person that we based John Magaro’s character on and our conversations with him, that was the inspiration to make the movie. If you see these interviews in the bonus material, you see why, because he’s such an eloquent person, and it’s so interesting to listen to his stories. You just get an idea of the whole machinery behind that film and how everybody put their whole heart into it. So, it’s nice. I must say that, for me, I learned more from watching bonus materials on DVDs, and then a little bit later, Blu-rays, then from many years of film school. So, I really enjoy bonus materials and hope for viewers that we offer an interesting package there.

What is the plot of ‘September 5’?

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, the ABC Sports broadcasting team is forced to pivot to real-time breaking news coverage as terrorists take the Israeli athletic team hostage and set an excruciating series of events in motion.

Who is in the cast of ‘September 5’?

• Peter Sarsgaard as Roone Arledge
• John Magaro as Geoffrey Mason
• Ben Chaplin as Marvin Bader
• Leonie Benesch as Marianne Gebhardt
• Zinedine Soualem as Jacques Lesgards
• Corey Johnson as Hank Hanson
• Georgina Rich as Gladys Deist
• Benjamin Walker as Peter Jennings

(L to R) Geoff Mason (John Magaro), Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin) and Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard star in Paramount Pictures’ ‘September 5,’ the film that unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today, set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Bonus content available on the digital release:

• Remaking Broadcast History — Join actors Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, and more as they share the challenges of portraying the real people tasked with reporting on the world’s first televised hostage crisis.
• A Meticulous Undertaking — See how an empty space was transformed into a stunning replica of the iconic 1972 broadcast studio where the ABC Sports team witnessed the unfolding tragedy.
• On The Global Stage — The 1972 Munich Olympics marked a turning point in history, where the line between journalism and complicity blurred. Delve into the ethical and journalistic dilemmas faced by the team as they weighed reporting the news and potentially fueling further violence.
• Screen Actors Guild Q&A – Discussion with writer, producer, and director Tim Fehlbaum, actors Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, and Leonie Benesch, and casting director Nancy Foy.
• Producers Guild of America Q&A — A conversation with writer, producer, and director Tim Fehlbaum, p.g.a., producer Sean Penn, Philipp Trauer, p.g.a., Thomas Wöbke, p.g.a., and John Ira Palmer, p.g.a.

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