The Program heading to Entertainment One ahead of TIFF

Entertainment One is in talks to pick up North American rights to Lance Armstrong drama “The Program” a week and a half before its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.

Ben Foster stars as the cycling champion, who won the Tour de France seven times between 1999 and 2005 after recovering from testicular cancer. He was stripped of the titles after doping revelations emerged from Irish sports writer David Walsh, who’s portrayed by Chris O’Dowd.

Stephen Frears (“The Queen”) directed from John Hodge’s script for Working Title and StudioCanal. Producers are Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Tracey Seaward and Kate Solomon; exec producers are Olivier Courson, Ron Halpern, Amelia Granger and Liza Chasin.

“The Program” will screen Sept. 13 at Roy Thomson Hall as a Gala presentation at Toronto, which also saw the 2013 premiere of Alex Gibney’s documentary “The Armstrong Lie.”

The project was screened at Cannes and sold to multiple international territories. It will debut in France and the U.K. on Sept 16. and in Germany on Oct 8.