Peter Sarsgaard Says Hostage ThrillerSeptember 5Shows Live News' 'Challenging' Experience Covering 1972 Tragedy

Mar. 15, 2025

Peter Sarsgaard in September 5.Photo:Jürgen Olczyk/Paramount Pictures

Jürgen Olczyk/Paramount Pictures

Peter Sarsgaard’s latest movie looks back at a turning point in live television history.

The actor’s new thrillerSeptember 5depicts the Israeli hostage crisis at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany from the perspective of American sports journalists. Sarsgaard, 53, tells PEOPLE the film, from director Tim Fehlbaum, powerfully recounts ABC News' difficult decision to roll cameras throughout the incident.

The hostage incident resulted in the death of 11 Israelis, five Palestinians and a West German officer.

Peter Sarsgaard on Dec. 11, 2024.Theo Wargo/Getty

Theo Wargo/Getty

“The problem with rolling live news is that they make mistakes all the time and then have to correct themselves later because real objectivity requires not just the distance of space, but I think time,” Sarsgaard says. “As much as we want to know the fastest, that’s some desire that doesn’t deserve satiating.”

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Sarsgaard says he spoke to a number of people who knew Arledge, whodied at 71in 2002, and read the two chapters Arledge dedicated to the Munich Olympics incident in his posthumously released bookRoone: A Memoir.

Peter Sarsgaard on Nov. 19, 2024.Slaven Vlasic/Getty

Slaven Vlasic/Getty

September 5is in select theaters now.

source: people.com