‘The Trial Of The Chicago 7’ Adds Michael Keaton, Sets Awards Season Release In 2020
Nearly a year ago, pre-production on Aaron Sorkin’s long-gestating true story ofThe Trial of the Chicago 7was suddenly shut downin order to allow the acclaimed writer some time to work on his Broadway adaptation ofTo Kill a Mockingbird. But a few months later, the moviewas getting back togetherwith a stacked cast assembling. Now the movie has addedMichael Keaton, and Paramount Pictures has setThe Trial of the Chicago 7release date right at the start of awards season. Find out more below.
For those who don’t know,The Trial of the Chicago 7follows the infamous 1969 trial of seven men charged by the federal government with conspiracy, arising from the counter-cultural protests in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. It was a headline-making affair and was the focus of much controversy and conversation for years to come. It has been in the works for over a decade and was originally intended to be a movie for Steven Spielberg to direct. Now it’s in the hands of Aaron Sorkin, who not only wrote the script, but will be making this his sophomore effort as a director.
The cast ofThe Trial of the Chicago 7already includesSacha Baron Cohenas Abbie Hoffman,Eddie Redmayneas Tom Hayden,Joseph Gordon-Levittas Richard H. Shultz,William Hurtas John N. Mitchell,Mark Rylanceas William Kunstler,Yahya Abdul-Mateen IIas Bobby Seale,Jeremy Strongas Jerry Rubin (a role that previously belonged to Seth Rogen), andFrank Langellaas Julius Hoffman. As forMichael Keaton,The Hollywood Reporterhas revealed he’ll be playing Ramsey Clark, a progressive lawyer who was also a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th century.
Production will take place next year with filming in Chicago and New Jersey, and it’ll have quite a quick turnaround in post-production withBox Office Prorevealing that Paramount Pictures has set the movie for a limited release onSeptember 25, 2020, followed by a wide release onOctober 2, 2020. With that kind of release date, the movie is likely to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festval, or maybe even at the Venice Film Festival or the smaller Telluride Film Festival. But either way, Paramount thinks they have an awards contender on their hands. We’re just hoping that this movie has been worth the long wait to see it get in front of a camera.
