WhenAdam McKayassembled his cast for his first drama, the Oscar-winningThe Big Short, he put together one of the finest powerhouse teams of A-list performers this side of a Soderbergh film. So it should come as no surprise that he’s working the same casting magic on his follow-up, the still-to-be-titled biopic inspired by the life of Vice PresidentDick Cheney, and in the finest piece of casting you’ll likely hear this month, McKay has recruitedSam Rockwellto playGeorge W. Bush. PerThe Hollywood Reporter, Rockwell is final negotiations to join the ensemble for the Annapurna picture in the role the former president.
Rockwell joins previously announced cast membersChristian Bale, Steve Carell, Bill Pullman, andAmy Adams. Bale is set to star as Cheney in the film, which THR says will span “the story of him avoiding military [service] in the Vietnam War, his rise to CEO of the multinational corporation Halliburton, to finally becoming what some have called as the most powerful vice president ever to hold that office.” Carell is set to play Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Adams will take on the role of Cheney’s wife, Lynne Cheney.
McKay previously explained his interest in Cheney’s story,
I’ve always found Cheney fascinating. Questions of what drove him, what his beliefs were; but once we started digging I was astounded at how much he had shaped modern America’s place in the world and how shocking the methods were by which he gained his power.
McKay will write and direct, with Plan B’sBrad Pitt,Dede GardnerandJeremy Kleinerproducing alongside McKay and his Gary Sanchez partnersWill FerrellandKevin Messick. Basically, it’sThe Big Shortteam, all back together again with some killer new additions, and adding Rockwell to your cast is always a good way to cement your film as that much more watchable.
What do you guys think of the casting? Sound off in the comments.
