Now here’s a surprise – Ben Stiller, of all people, is the latest director to enter talks with Dreamworks about directing Trial Of The Chicago 7, the movie about riots at the 1968 Democratic convention and the aftermath.
We say ‘surprise’ because Stiller, of course, is primarily known as a comedic director, and this is heavyweight dramatic material – enough to have attracted the interest of, initially, Steven Spielberg and then, last summer, Paul Greengrass.
But, with the success of Tropic Thunder re-establishing him as a director to watch, Stiller is clearly seeking to branch out and show that he has more strings to his bow.
The talks with Dreamworks are very much at an early stage, but the Aaron Sorkin-penned Trial Of The Chicago 7 is on a shortlist of films that Dreamworks inherited from the breakaway from Paramount and wishes to get into production as quickly as possible. So we’d expect a firm ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on this one asap.
What do you think, readers – is Stiller capable of making a hard-hitting political picture? Or should he stay in his wheelhouse? As ever, use the space below to let us know your thoughts.