As it sauntered through development, Jeremy Renner’s next film, true-life journalism tale Kill The Messenger, dribbled out casting announcements with Rosemarie DeWitt, Paz Vegas and Michael Kenneth Williams all aboard. The press release about director Michael Cuesta kicking off production brings a flood of new names, including Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Michael Sheen, Andy Garcia, Tim Blake Nelson, Robert Patrick, Barry Pepper and Oliver Platt.
Written by Peter Landesman, Kill The Messenger chronicles the tragic true story of investigative journalist Gary Webb. Working at the San Jose Mercury News, Webb uncovered evidence of the CIA’s involvement in the spread of cocaine in Los Angeles. The stories tied the Agency to a scheme that funded Contra rebels in Nicaragua via the drug trade. His three-part series, called Dark Alliance, hit newsstands in 1996, which led to a long, vicious smear campaign and Webb’s suicide in 2004.
“The story of Gary Webb, and the story he broke, is at once thrilling, emotional, and relevant to all of us in ‘the information age,’” says producer / Focus Features CEO James Schamus in a statement. “Our team of filmmakers has been tireless in working to get this movie made, and we know that audiences will empathize with Jeremy’s compassionate portrayal of a man who did the right thing at great personal and professional cost.”
Shooting has now started in Atlanta, and the film will arrive next year.