He may be best known for comedy collaborations with Will Ferrell in particular, but writer/producer/director Adam McKay is never afraid to deal with real-world politics, as he showed with this year's financial crisis pic The Big Short. He's got a new target in mind, setting up a film about former US Vice President Dick Cheney.
Always a controversial figure, and never more so when he was in office, Cheney has long been considered one of the most powerful Vice Presidents in recent years, serving with George W. Bush, but seen by many as pulling the strings. He expanded the powers of the presidency and helped set up programmes that remain with us today, particularly intelligence gathering and in foreign policy. And there was the small matter of accidentally shooting a hunting partner in the face.
“I’ve always found Cheney fascinating,” McKay, who has also written the script for this one, tells Deadline. “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.” It's not the first time he has tackled the administration, as he also directed the HBO film of Ferrell's Bush-spoofing stage show.
Paramount is backing the new film, which McKay will also produce alongside his and Ferrell's Gary Sanchez company and Brad Pitt's Plan B team. The director is looking for the cast now and hopes to kick off production in the spring.