We're used to seeing Kate McKinnon bring comedy creations to life. But she'll shift into a more dramatic mode for Jay Roach's still-untitled film about the sexual harassment scandal that brought down former Fox News boss Roger Ailes, and the women who helped each other in the face of his toxic corporate culture.
The Big Short's Charles Randolph wrote the script for the film, which will follow Ailes rise and fall. He ran Fox News and helped launch the careers of Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron), Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman), and Sean Hannity with his powerful channel. He also was also a prominent figure in Republican circles who helped elect presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush. He was forced to resign in 2016 due to sexual harassment allegations, with Carlson and Kelly’s the most high-profile, and which contributed to his exit from the network.
McKinnon is on to play a producer in the film, a fictional creation not based on a real-life personality, much like the part taken by Margot Robbie. With John Lithgow as Ailes and Allison Janney recently signed to play his defence attorney, Roach will kick off shooting later this year.
Next up for McKinnon (aside from her regular job on Saturday Night Live) is another untitled project, the Danny Boyle/Richard Curtis musical comedy, due out on 13 September next year.
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