John Lithgow To Play Fox News Boss Roger Ailes

John Lithgow

by James White |
Published on

Jay Roach already has the star power of Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron and Margot Robbie in his still-untitled film about the fall of Fox News boss Roger Ailes, but until recently, he didn't have someone playing the man himself. Now he does, with John Lithgow signing on to take the role.

Roach's latest look at real-world events, scripted by The Big Short's Charles Randolph, will chart Ailes' downfall from the position as one of the most powerful people in media after a raft of sexual misconduct claims.

Some of those came directly from women who worked with him, including anchors Gretchen Carlson (Kidman) and Megyn Kelly (Theron). Robbie, meanwhile, is playing a fictional news producer.

While a competing project at Showtime titled The Loudest Voice In The Room will focus more on Ailes' rise and fall (with Russell Crowe in the lead), Roach's film is aiming more at the experience of the women around him.

Lithgow has a couple of films on the way, including a Pet Sematary remake (out on 5 April next year) and comedy Late Night, which should arrive in 2019, but doesn't have a set date yet.

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