<div><p>It was the tale of beleaguered film-maker, a leaked email, an embattled production and two Hollywood heavyweights at loggerheads. Yet now, it seems, the torrid, behind-the-scenes history of Stephen Daldry's The Reader may finally have a happy ending.</p><p>Producers Harvey Weinstein and Scott Rudin today issued a joint statement announcing that the film would be released in the US on December 12, bringing to an end weeks of uncertainty. "We are issuing this statement together to emphasise the fact that we are in complete agreement on the date we have chosen to release The Reader," they said. "Working together, we developed a plan to extend the post-production schedule in order to give Stephen Daldry the additional time he needs to successfully complete the film."</p><p>The Reader, a postwar romance based on the novel by Bernhard Schlink and starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes, is seen as a contender for next year's major Oscars. Weinstein is rumoured to have pressured its British director to complete the film in time to meet the Hollywood Foreign Press Association deadline in November. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is the body that votes for the Golden Globe awards, a crucial pointer to eventual Oscar success.</p><p>But Weinstein's proposed campaign put him on a collision course with both his fellow producer Scott Rudin and director Stephen Daldry, who is still editing the film. Deadline Hollywood claims to have obtained <a href="http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/scott-rudin-wins-battle-with-harvey-weinstein-gives-the-reader-helmer-more-time/">a leaked memo from Daldry to Weinstein</a> in which he insisted that he was unable to make the proposed date. </p><p>"It can't happen," Daldry writes in the alleged email from last month. "It won't happen ... I cannot be party to a process that strips me of my ability to make my work good." The mail concludes: "I have to call a halt to this process, this arguing over the date and simply say there is a line I will not cross and this is it ... Nobody but me knows what my personal limits are but I will – in fact, I must – tell you that I am perilously close to mine." Rudin is reported to have backed Daldry in the dispute.</p><p>Production on The Reader was initially delayed by eight weeks after its original star, Nicole Kidman, bailed out on discovering she was pregnant. The film was initially scheduled to complete principal photography in February. Various delays ensured that it did not reach the editing suite until July. </p><p>Industry insiders have speculated that the dispute has highlighted the respective career trajectories of the film's producers. Weinstein is rumoured to be staking all on a successful Oscar bid for The Reader in order to offset his company's alleged financial difficulties. By contrast the film is merely one of a number of award hopefuls for Rudin, alongside the Meryl Streep drama Doubt and Sam Mendes's Revolutionary Road, which also stars Kate Winslet. He was even rumoured to be willing to sacrifice The Reader's Oscar chances in order to clear the path for Revolutionary Road.</p><p>The December 12 release date may be a compromise, but it is also a reprieve for Daldry. "Scott and Harvey spent this weekend working together to find a way to accommodate my needs so that I may fulfil my obligation to the studio without compromising my vision for the film," the director says in a statement. "I am thrilled and relieved that we have all found a way forward to work together to bring The Reader to theatres this year."</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=34664609&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

Copyright 2008  <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a></div></div>