The Amblin Partners drama that was to be directed by Aaron Sorkin has been shut down.
Sources say that budgetary concerns forced the company to pull the plug on the feature project, which was in preproduction and heading toward a February 2019 start.
Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne and Jonathan Majors were on board to star in the drama about a group of antiwar activists who were accused by the federal government of conspiracy and incitement to riot because of the protests surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
While the event may have been a defining moment of the 1960s, concern arose that the project’s budget was too high for a period drama about an event that does not on paper seem like it could immediately connect to audiences. Sources point to the performances of recent dramas such as Detroit and First Man as similar examples.
The development is the latest to befall Chicago 7, which Amblin has been developing since at least 2008, when Steven Spielberg was planning on directing it. Then it was derailed by the WGA strike and in later years, both Paul Greengrass and Ben Stiller flirted with the idea of presiding over it as helmers. Sorkin came on board as director in October.
Amblin insiders say the company remains committed to the project and will, with Sorkin, regroup and redevelop it.
In a statement, Amblin said, "Aaron just adapted To Kill a Mockingbird, which is premiering on Broadway this Thursday. He is currently evaluating his schedule and commitments to determine the best time and way to make The Trial of the Chicago 7. Amblin remains involved as a producer."
After pre-production was put on pause in December, we can reveal that Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial Of The Chicago 7 is now heading to market with an all star cast including Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jonathan Majors and Alex Sharp.
Redmayne will play Tom Hayden, Baron Cohen is Abbie Hoffman, Rogen will be Jerry Rubin, Gordon-Levitt has been set to play Richard Schultz, Jonathan Majors stars as Bobby Seale, and Alex Sharp will be Rennie Davis. I hear more A-list cast may be coming. Michael Keaton has been coveted for the role of William Kunstler.
Now on board to produce with Amblin are La La Land, The Girl On The Train and Bridge Of Spies producer Marc Platt and Matt Jackson, producer on Molly’s Game and End of Watch.
Chicago 7 has long been a passion project for Sorkin and will mark his second film as director after he made his feature directorial debut in 2017 with Molly’s Game, which he also wrote. The supremo scribe recently opened Broadway show To Kill A Mockingbird to rave reviews.
Sorkin said, “I’m thrilled to be making a movie about one of one of the craziest, funniest, most intense, most tragic and most triumphant trials in American history. C-7 may take place in the late ’60’s, but there’s no better time to tell this story than today.”
After pre-production was put on pause in December, we can reveal that Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial Of The Chicago 7 is now heading to market with an all star cast including Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jonathan Majors and Alex Sharp.
Redmayne will play Tom Hayden, Baron Cohen is Abbie Hoffman, Rogen will be Jerry Rubin, Gordon-Levitt has been set to play Richard Schultz, Jonathan Majors stars as Bobby Seale, and Alex Sharp will be Rennie Davis. I hear more A-list cast may be coming. Michael Keaton has been coveted for the role of William Kunstler.
Now on board to produce with Amblin are La La Land, The Girl On The Train and Bridge Of Spies producer Marc Platt and Matt Jackson, producer on Molly’s Game and End of Watch.
Chicago 7 has long been a passion project for Sorkin and will mark his second film as director after he made his feature directorial debut in 2017 with Molly’s Game, which he also wrote. The supremo scribe recently opened Broadway show To Kill A Mockingbird to rave reviews.
Sorkin said, “I’m thrilled to be making a movie about one of one of the craziest, funniest, most intense, most tragic and most triumphant trials in American history. C-7 may take place in the late ’60’s, but there’s no better time to tell this story than today.”
Decent gig for JGL finally. Still need to be convinced of Sorkin as Director though.
Seriously what is going on with his career? I was ready to call him the next Leo in 2012-2013
he has his own production company or something. besides, he's married with two small kids. it's not like he'd been exclusively starring in shit movies for years, he just probably took a break to have a family. nothing wrong with that
Decent gig for JGL finally. Still need to be convinced of Sorkin as Director though.
Seriously what is going on with his career? I was ready to call him the next Leo in 2012-2013
he has his own production company or something. besides, he's married with two small kids. it's not like he'd been exclusively starring in shit movies for years, he just probably took a break to have a family. nothing wrong with that
This seems fairly accurate. He was more so not working than doing terrible films and it’s prob no coincidence he wasn’t working when he had 2 kids in a row.
Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial Of The Chicago 7 is finally getting its day in court. Paramount Pictures has come aboard for domestic distribution, and Cross Creek has boarded as producer and co-financier, along with Amblin Partners. The collective funding infusion has the film now on track to begin production this fall.
Frank Langella has agreed to play US District Court Judge Julius Hoffman, who presided over the trial, and Mark Rylance will play William Kuntsler, the lawyer who defended the civil rights activists. They join a killer cast that previously circled the picture: Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman, Eddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Richard Schultz, Jonathan Majors as Bobby Seale and Alex Sharp as Rennie Davis. These were the major players in the 1969 trial of anti-war activists charged by the federal government with conspiracy for their roles of fomenting protests that marred the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
More stars are being firmed in time for an October production start. That will give the film the chance to be released in the heat of the 2020 presidential elections. Michael Keaton is one of the actors who’ve been mentioned.
