Best known for “The Anchorman” series, writer/director Adam McKay had been threatening to make a “serious” film for many years during his comedy heyday. And his first time at bat, the filmmaker knocked it out of the park with “The Big Short,” scoring five Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Director. McKay likely hasn’t left comedy behind completely, but he’s certainly not giving up on his new direction either. An all-star cast is circling his latest film, a long-brewing biopic of the polarizing former Vice President Dick Cheney, including Christian Bale, Steve Carell and Amy Adams. Bale and Carell will be reuniting with the filmmaker after having co-starred in the aforementioned Academy Award-nominated drama. Bale was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor award for his turn.
Amazingly, Bale is in talks to play Cheney himself, Carell would play former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Adams would play the controversial VP’s wife Lynne Cheney. McKay will direct from his own script. Brad Pitt‘s Plan B, the same company that produced “The Big Short,” will be leading the charge (along with McKay’s Gary Sanchez productions) and the team is hoping to shoot the movie this fall for an 2018 awards season push. However, according to Deadline, Paramount still has to give the project a green light and if you’ve paid attention to that company in the last six months, you know that may prove to be a bit more difficult than usual. Then again, awards bait like “Fences” and “Silence” were arguably the highlights of Paramount’s wobbly 2016. [Variety/Deadline]