Dermot Mulroney has signed on to star in Kent State, a historical drama inspired by true events that aims to tell the story of a family’s buried past coinciding with the brutal truth of one of the most significant events in American History.
On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State university student protestors who were peacefully rallying to oppose the expanding involvement of the Vietnam War in Cambodia by the US military, as well as protesting against the presence of National Guard on their campus.
28 National Guard soldiers fired approximately 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds which resulted in the death of four students and an injury of seven. The shooting resulted in massive outrage on campuses across the US, with more than 4 million students participating in walkouts at several universities, which became the largest student strike in US history at the time.
The film will be told through the perspective of a man named Will McCormack in two time periods in his life, the film asks the question of not just what happened then, but why these kinds of events continue to happen.
Karen Slate will write and direct the movie, with Briarcliff Entertainment producing. Briarcliff’s Tom Ortenberg said in a statement:
“The Kent State shooting was a dark and pivotal moment in our nation’s history. This is a story that needs to be told and surprisingly never has. We are looking forward to bringing it to the big screen to educate and inspire both the young and old alike.”
Mulroney has had a busy 2022, appearing in films such as thriller Gone in the Night, horror movie Umma, romantic drama Along for the Ride, and spy film Agent Game.
He’s currently filming the sixth installment in the Scream franchise and will also play the fictional president in upcoming MCU series, Secret Invasion.
Kent State will begin filming in November in Columbus, Georgia. No release date is set but it’s expected that the film will arrive sometime in 2023.
#Peace.Love.KentState
