John Magaro and Leonie Benesch are at the heart of one of the world's most harrowing events in September 5. While he's been acting for the better part of 20 years, Magaro has found more mainstream success over the past decade with everything from Netflix's The Umbrella Academy and Orange is the New Black to the Sopranos prequel movie, The Many Saints of Newark, and Oscar-nominated drama Past Lives. After primarily working in her home country of Germany, Benesch has found international success with the Oscar-nominated Teacher's Lounge and PBS/BBC One's Around the World in 80 Days series.
September 5 takes viewers into the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today in which an American sports broadcasting team quickly adapted from sports reporting to live coverage of the Israeli athletes taken hostage during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. Magaro, who previously appeared in Steven Spielberg's similar-subject thriller Munich, serves as part of the focus of the movie, playing the young and ambitious producer Geoffrey Mason who, with German interpreter Marianne Gebhardt (Benesch) and his mentor Marvin Bader, takes the helm of the worldwide live coverage of the situation.
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Alongside Magaro and Benesch, the ensemble September 5 cast includes The Batman's Peter Sarsgaard, The Nevers' Ben Chaplin, Zinedine Soualem, Corey Johnson, Georgina Rich, Rony Herman and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power's Benjamin Walker. The movie hails from The Colony director Tim Fehlbaum, who also co-wrote the script for the true-story-based thriller with Moritz Binder and Alex David.
In anticipation of the movie's December 13 limited release, ScreenRant interviewed Leonie Benesch and John Magaro about their upcoming movie, September 5. They detail what they learned about the events of that fateful day while working on the film, as well as the pressure felt whenever you are depicting real life people on screen. Benesch and Magaro also explain why they think people should go see September 5 in theaters, despite the heavy subject matter and relevance to our world today.
Both Benesch & Magaro Knew About September 5 (But Not Many Details)
"I grew up without a TV. But I was familiar with the image of the man on the balcony with the mask."
ScreenRant: Did you know a lot about the events of September 5's story before working on the film?
Leonie Benesch: Well, not a lot. No. I didn't know any of the details. I grew up without a TV. But I was familiar with the image of the man on the balcony with the mask, and I knew of the massacre, what happened that day, but I had no idea about the media circus. I didn't know it was a 22-hour live broadcast, and that it was sports journalists covering news and all that. I also didn't know the extent to which the German authorities failed all those people back then.
John Magaro: I remember growing up and there would be things on, maybe anniversaries, or whenever the Olympics happened, there would be a special little report on it. So I remember hearing about the events on that day, but the minutia I did not know. I certainly didn't know that it was covered by a sports journalist team, as opposed to just a proper news team. So that was all new to me.
I also didn't know that it was the first time that an event like this was shown live to the whole world and how much that changed and how many people. That was all new to me.
Benesch Knew The Writing Team Would Not Mess This Up
Magaro Also Recalls The "Tremendous Responsibility" To Honor The Real-Life Figures
Is there pressure that comes with something that is depicting something that actually happened?
John Magaro: Of course, especially something where lives were lost. I think we all felt a tremendous responsibility to the victims and to the current tragedies that are still occurring. I think there was just a responsibility to get it right. Also to all the people who were in that control room that day, to make it as authentic to their experience, because it was clearly traumatic for all of them as well. So I think we all felt an obligation to that.
Leonie Benesch: But I always felt safe because Tim Fehlbaum, the director and co-writer of the script, and Moritz Binder, did tons and tons and tons of research. I did feel like I could be sure that they would not mess it up.
Benesch & Magaro Hope Viewers Think About Their News Consumption After Watching
"...it really made me question my own consumption, especially of violent news stories."
It still feels relevant in this world today. What do you hope that people take away from September 5?
Leonie Benesch: I always struggle a little bit with the thing of, I hope people understand this about the world, because I don't think I'm in a position to teach anyone anything, but I really like this film because it makes me reconsider some of the things that I've been taking for granted when it comes to media consumption, especially news consumption. I think the film raises some really interesting questions about that. I would hope that people would ask themselves those.
John Magaro: I used to be a 24-hour news junkie, and then, after doing this and stepping inside and seeing how the sauce is made a bit, it really made me question my own consumption, especially of violent news stories, which has become so common nowadays. I realized how desensitized I had become, where I could see bombings and people dying, and then play a video game. It's shocking. I think that we've become that way. So I hope the audience will leave and question their own consumption of such tragic events.
About September 5
September 5 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 follows an American Sports broadcasting team that quickly adapted from sports reporting to live coverage of the Israeli athletes taken hostage. Through this lens, "September 5" provides a fresh perspective on the live broadcast seen globally by an estimated one billion people at the time.
At the heart of the story is Geoff (John Magaro), a young and ambitious producer striving to prove himself to his boss, the legendary TV executive Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard). Together with German interpreter Marianne (Leonie Benesch) and his mentor Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), Geoff unexpectedly takes the helm of the live coverage. As narratives shift, time ticks away, and conflicting rumors spread, with the hostages' lives hanging in the balance, Geoff grapples with tough decisions while confronting his own moral compass.
Check out our other September 5 interviews here:
- Peter Sarsgaard & Ben Chaplin
- Director Tim Fehlbaum & Producer John Palmer
September 5 heads to limited theaters on December 13 before opening globally on January 17.
Source: ScreenRant Plus
The 1972 Munich Olympics saw an American sports broadcasting crew unexpectedly tasked with covering a hostage situation involving Israeli athletes.
Release Date November 29, 2024
Runtime 91 Minutes
Director Tim Fehlbaum
Writers Tim Fehlbaum , Moritz Binder
English (US) ·