Nuclear War Thriller ‘Fail-Safe’ Will Get a Bold New Reimagining from Joe Berlinger

Joe Berlinger, the award-winning director behind HBO’s Paradise Lost, is stepping into the world of Cold War thrillers. He’s set to direct a fresh take on Fail-Safe, the chilling 1962 novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler.

The book, which inspired Sidney Lumet’s 1964 film, tells a terrifying story where a mechanical glitch sends the U.S. military on an unstoppable path toward nuclear disaster with the Soviet Union.

Berlinger’s version will take a documentary-style approach, imagining an alternate reality where the book’s events actually happened in 1967. New York and Moscow are destroyed, and the world is left to deal with the horrifying consequences.

The film will mix international drama with a cinéma vérité feel, giving it a modern and intense perspective.The project is being produced by Maria Farinha Films & Co, the newly established U.S. arm of the well-known Brazilian studio Maria Farinha Films.

The company is recognized for Aruanas, a hit series on Globoplay. They also have ties to Violet Films, the London-based production company behind Virunga, White Helmets, and The Edge of Democracy.

Miura Kite, who heads Maria Farinha Films & Co, called Fail-Safe ‘a gripping and immersive story’ that still resonates today. Estela Renner, the company’s co-founder, praised Berlinger’s past work, including Crude and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.

She pointed out that the film will highlight the ongoing dangers of nuclear conflict, especially as AI and privatization become bigger factors in global security. With Berlinger at the helm and a fresh, thought-provoking vision, this reimagining of Fail-Safe could be one of the most intense Cold War thrillers in years.

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