Kino Lorber announced that it has acquired all North American distribution rights to Richard Dewey’s Radical Wolfe, a documentary portrait of the essential American writer and New Journalism pioneer Tom Wolfe. Kino Lorber is planning a theatrical release later this year followed by a digital and home video release on all major platforms.
Radical Wolfe is an official adaptation of the 2015 Vanity Fair article “How Tom Wolfe Became … Tom Wolfe” by Michael Lewis, best-selling author of Moneyball and The Big Short and a long time personal friend of Wolfe. The film is directed by Richard Dewey (Burden) and executive produced by David Light, Nathan Epstein, and Brian Kaufman and co-produced by Andy Fortenbacher.
From a beat reporter at the Washington Post, to an overnight sensation as the leader of the New Journalism movement, Tom Wolfe was at the forefront of reshaping how American stories are told. Recognizing the importance in overlooked micro-cultures and people, Wolfe documented everything, from rural stock car drivers to hippies in Haight Ashbury to the Apollo Astronauts, and his ability to bridge cultural and class divides while tackling stories central to American Life was unique in fiction and non-fiction. With a distinctive and oft-imitated style all his own, Wolfe’s body of work includes some of the most memorable and culturally impactful stories of the 20th century, including The Right Stuff, The Bonfire of the Vanities, and A Man in Full. Radical Wolfe is a deeply personal and illuminating look at the man inside the famous white suit, featuring conversations and interviews with those who knew him best including Michael Lewis, Jann Wenner, Gay Talese, Lynn Nesbit, Terry McDonell, Tom Junod, Christopher Buckley, Niall Ferguson, and Alexandra Wolfe.
The deal for Radical Wolfe was negotiated by Kino Lorber Senior Vice President Wendy Lidell and Ben Schwartz and Dan Braun of Submarine.
“Tom Wolfe has become an icon of American pop culture, an acid tongued electric wit with sartorial stylings to match, and his work has entertained millions of readers since he first arrived on the New York literary scene in the 1960s,” said Kino Lorber SVP Wendy Lidell. “With this rollicking, endlessly engaging portrait of Wolfe's life and work, Rich Dewey has crafted a fascinating documentary that captures the man, the myth, and the white-suited legend. Radical Wolfe is sure to enchant Wolfe acolytes and newcomers alike.”
“I’m very excited to partner with Kino Lorber to share Radical Wolfe with Tom’s many fans around the world,” said director Richard Dewey. “Tom Wolfe is undergoing a renaissance as a new generation of readers discovers not only his inimitable voice, but also his unique perspective on late 20th century American cultural and history that continues to resonate today.”