Redford Conspires to Direct Abe Lincoln Assassination Pic
Guess that does it for Spielberg's venture...
Steven Zeitchik at the Risky Biz Blog reports Robert Redford is set to direct The Conspirator, a film telling the story of Mary Surratt, alleged conspirator of Abraham Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth. One would have to assume this would effectively put the kibosh on Steven Spielberg's long-gestating Lincoln biopic as he trundles off to direct aliens in the jungle sequels and remakes old classics. Too bad, with Liam Neeson in the lead and a script from Tony Kushner that film sounded extraordinarily promising, but I just don't see Hollywood taking a risk on duplication in this economic climate. Last thing I would expect Spielberg and his new DreamWorks money to do would be to take a risk on playing second-fiddle.
Anyway, back to the subject at hand, The Conspirator was penned by James Solomon, the writer and exec producer on the ESPN-original series New York Yankees tale "The Bronx is Burning," and rumor has it James McAvoy is said to be at the top of the list for one of the lead roles. McAvoy, coincidentally, also just joined the cast of I'm With Cancer opposite Seth Rogen for director Nicole Holofcener (Friends With Money). That film is an adaptation of the Will Reiser novel in which a 25-year-old (McAvoy) learns he has cancer and successfully battles the disease over several years.
Zeitchik gives us the following rundown of the Surratt story:
A Washington D.C. boardinghouse owner who sympathized with the Confederates, she was allegedly part of the plot to kill Lincoln, supplying Wilkes Booth and his accomplice David Herold weapons at her tavern after the assassin had shot the president at Ford's Theater.
Surratt's son John was also alleged to be part of the conspiracy. Mary Surratt was eventually convicted and hanged for conspiring to kill the president; her son went on the lamb and eventually was put on trial but was never convicted, living until 1916.
The period immediately after the Lincoln assassination was considered extremely volatile, with the country on the cusp of again falling into civil war; that period will provide a backdrop to the Redford-helmed tale.
This film will mark Redford's follow-up to the 2007 politically charged bust Lions for Lambs. Prior to that, his last film was The Legend of Bagger Vance in 2000.
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