Sebastian Koch, Toni Servillo Set for Oscar Winner Gabriele Salvatores’ Chess-World Noir ‘The Lüneburg Variation’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Oct 22, 2026 1:15am PT Sebastian Koch, Toni Servillo Set for Oscar Winner Gabriele Salvatores’ Chess-World Noir ‘The Lüneburg Variation’ (EXCLUSIVE)

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By Nick Vivarelli

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Nick Vivarelli

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@NickVivarelli

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Sebastian Koch, star of Oscar-winning German film “The Lives of Others,” and Toni Servillo, protagonist of Italy’s Oscar winner “The Great Beauty,” are set to topline “The Lüneburg Variation,” a noir based in the world of chess, directed by Gabriele Salvatores.

Salvatores – himself also winner of an Oscar for “Mediterraneo” – has started shooting in Trieste on “Lüneburg Variation,” which is based on the eponymous novel by Italian author Paolo Maurensig that has been translated into 25 languages. Nine weeks of principal photography are planned between Trieste and Rome.

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