Mike Fleming

Brooklyn Castle SXSW Scott RudinEXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures and producer Scott Rudin have snapped up remake rights to Brooklyn Castle, the documentary that premiered at SXSW yesterday. The film, which got a rousing response after its Sunday bow, is about I.S. 318, an inner-city school where more than 65% of students are from homes with incomes below the federal poverty level. It also happens to have the winningest junior high school chess team in the country. While chess has transformed the school from one cited in 2003 as a “school in need of improvement” to one of New York City’s best, public school budget cuts put the program and its accomplishments in jeopardy. The remake deal was made by Cinetic Media, which is also shopping distribution rights on the film. Rudin also previously produced the chess-themed Searching For Bobby Fischer, which Steve Zaillian wrote and directed.