No, this is not a drill. Step Brothers and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy director Adam McKay, who went on to earn two Academy Award nominations and one win for his work on The Big Short, is making a movie about former Vice President Dick Cheney. You know, the same guy who actor Richard Dreyfuss portrayed in the 2008 Oliver Stone film W. and called the “most despicable man in modern history.” That Dick Cheney. Oh yeah, and his McKay’s fellow Saturday Night Live alum turned comedy partner Will Ferrell is going to produce it with him.
According to the exclusive Deadline report, McKay “quietly completed a screenplay that will go out to actors shortly” with the hopes of shooting in the spring of 2017 and hitting theaters later that year. Along with Ferrell, McKay will produce the untitled project with his Gary Sanchez cohorts and Brad Pitt’s Plan B — basically the same team that helped make The Big Short. All of which sounds great, but why Cheney?
“I’ve always found Cheney fascinating,” McKay told Deadline. “Questions of what drove him, what his beliefs were; but once we started digging I was astounded at how much he had shaped modern America’s place in the world and how shocking the methods were by which he gained his power.”
Cheney’s controversial standing before, during and especially after President George W. Bush’s White House administration is well documented, not just in films like W., but in journalism from the time and conducted since. Yet with even more combative figures like President-elect Donald Trump’s announced chief strategist, Steve Bannon, set to enter the picture, perhaps a Big Short-esque look at Cheney’s time in office is just what this country needs.
Maybe John Travolta can nail the 75-year-old politico on the head when McKay and Ferrell eventually (and hopefully) offer him the role. He probably won’t mind pulling double duty while he’s (also hopefully) starring as Cheney’s former boss in American Crime Story‘s second season devoted to Hurricane Katrina.
(Via Deadline)
