Back in 2007, George Clooney seemed keen to adapt the off-Broadway play, Farragut North. for the big screen. However since then, it’s been caught up in the multitude of projects he’s been mulling over, developing and otherwise considering making. Most had assumed it would just lie in Clooney’s vault, but now Vulture suggests the movie is very much alive and Clooney will indeed shoot it as his next directorial effort.
He’s even got to the point where he’s casting, with Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti already onboardy, while Clooney is trying to woo Chris Pine for one of the other roles. He’s also got offers out to Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei.
Beau Williamson’s play (he also wrote the initial draft of the script) was written after his work campaigning for Howard Dean in 2004. ‘Accordingly, the story is set in Des Moines, Iowa, just weeks before the states Democratic caucuses officially commence; it follows the exploits of a twentysomething presidential campaign spinmeister/wunderkind named Stephen Myers, and the dirty pool he plays to get his candidate the nomination against a rival senator.’
Leo Dicaprio was once up for the main role, but he seems to have backed out, clearing the way for Clooney to try and land Pine. That casting certainly makes sense, as Chris won acclaim when he played the role in an LA stage production last year. Brad Pitt was also one onboard, but can’t make it any longer, with Phillip Seymour Hoffman taking over his role.