A couple of films that have been hacking their way through the dense development foliage appear to be making proper progress toward screens today. One is King Of The Jungle, the wild story of tech magnate John McAfee, which now has Michael Keaton and Seth Rogen attached to star.
The film will adapt Joshua Davis’ Wired article John McAfee's Last Stand, which chronicles the experiences of McAfee (who Keaton will play). Now in his sixtes, he once worked as a NASA programmer, but parlayed his software skills to develop the first commercial antivirus program (users might know it best for its endless demands to be updated). So far, so standard. But then it gets truly odd.
McAfee sold his stock in McAfee Associations in 1994 for a rich sum and since then has been involved in various legal wrangles. He’s sought political asylum in Guatemala, been evading authorities in Belize and been sought for questioning in the murder of neighbour Gregory Viant Faull. Oh, and there was his Walter White-style life making methamphetamine and possessing unlicensed weapons. Rogen will play a fictionalised version of Davis, Ari Furman, who is sent to interview McAfee and finds himself drawn into his web of madness.
Directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa have been on board since at least 2013, though the script is now being written by biopic experts Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. Johnny Depp was briefly attached in 2017, but the movie will now move forward in its current incarnation.
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