Deadline reports that Charlize Theron has signed on to portray news anchor Megyn Kelly in Annapurna Pictures’ currently-untitled film about the women working at the Fox News channel, and the sexual harassment they experienced at the hands of Chairman Roger Ailes.
Ailes resigned in disgrace back in 2016 once the allegations regarding his behaviour surfaced, which began when ex-host Gretchen Carlson filed a $20 million sexual harassment suit against Ailes. Kelly – a prominent figure on the network – then backed up Carlson’s claim with her own similar experiences. This led to a flood of women departing Fox News for jobs at other channels.
The film has the Academy Award-winning co-writer of The Big Short, Charles Randolph, penning the script. He has reportedly been working on the film since before Ailes’ death. Jay Roach will direct the film, which is a fitting choice considering he has been at the helm of other politically-charged films such as Game Change, Recount, and the upcoming TV adaptation of Fire And Fury.
The film will boast an ensemble cast of people playing notable figures at Fox News during the scandal, so Theron is just the first addition of what could be many big name actors. Who will be cast to play Ailes will obviously be a big talking point, too.
This won’t be the first movie Annapurna will be releasing about a notoriously conservative figure, as this autumn will see the release of Adam McKay‘s Backseat, which will revolve around the life of former Vice President Dick Cheney, with Christian Bale portraying him.
#Peace.Love.CharlizeTheron
