It’s been pretty remarkable to see Adam McKay —best known for “Step Brothers” and “Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy“— pivot into a career as a filmmaker with more serious issues on his mind. “The Big Short” is a tremendous calling card in that respect, earning five Oscar nominations and winning McKay one for Best Adapted Screenplay. Ever since, he’s seen a few projects pile up, including “Bad Blood” with Jennifer Lawrence attached, and the comic book adaptation “Irredeemable.” But it seems that once again McKay is taking aim at issues of considerable import.
The director’s next project will be a biopic regarding Dick Cheney, the former Vice President of the United States. McKay has penned the script for the movie that will track the controversial political player from his days as CEO at Halliburton to his time in the George W. Bush White House, where he pushed for invading Iraq post-9/11 and installed the “enhanced interrogation program.”
Cheney has previously been portrayed in a handful of projects, most famously perhaps by Richard Dreyfuss in Oliver Stone‘s “W.” He even sat down in front of the camera himself for R.J. Cutler‘s documentary “The World According To Dick Cheney,” which was widely criticized for not being confrontational enough with Cheney.
McKay likely won’t be playing with kid gloves for this movie, which is gearing up fast and aiming to shoot next spring. And considering how quickly the director turned around “The Big Short,” I wouldn’t be surprised it’s ready to go in theaters a year from now. [THR]
Stick around for the post credits scene where Cheney meets in a secret underground bunker with Mike Pence to ‘teach him the way’…
How is making one movie, which is still basically a comedy, a pretty remarkable transition? Dick Cheney was terrible, satire no longer works on the right, why would the left want to see more of the prick. Too early to boycott?