Alliance Atlantis Communications is backing Richard Kwietniowski's second film Owning Maloney which is being produced by Alliance Atlantis-based H20 Motion Pictures. H20's Andras Hamori and Seaton McLean, president of Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Production, will produce the film which is set to start shooting in mid-March on location in Toronto and Atlantic City.

Philip Seymour Hoffman will star in the film, a true life story, as Brian Maloney, an unassuming bank manager who quietly embezzled millions over a year and a half to feed his gambling habit. The film is based on the book Stung by Gary Ross which was an account of the bank fraud. Sarah Polley is in negotiations to star opposite Hoffman.

Owning Maloney is the first film from Kwietniowski since his acclaimed debut Love And Death On Long Island in 1997. He wrote the screenplay himself adapted from Ross' original work and a script by Maurice Chauvet. It is being produced in conjunction with Edward R Pressman Film Corporation; Pressman and Sean Furst are executive producers, with Alessandro Camon as a producer for Pressman.

Owning Maloney is the third film greenlit by Alliance Atlantis since Hamori set up his H20 banner in May 2000. The others are The 51st State starring Samuel L Jackson and Robert Carlyle and Morvern Callar starring Samantha Morton and directed by Lynne Ramsey, a co-production with Company Pictures.

Douglas R Stone negotiated the deal on behalf of Alliance Atlantis with Victoria Wisdom of Becsey-Wisdom-Kalajian on behalf of Kwietniowski and with Michael Lazo and Sarah Fargo of Paradigm and manager Davian Littlefield on behalf of Hoffman.