German thesp Moritz Bleibtreu has signed on to The Edukators director Hans Weingartner’s next film, Free Rainer.
He’ll nab the title role of a TV executive sick of the mindless rubbish that his channel pumps out. With a group of loyal followers, he hacks into the set-top boxes that track the ratings and manipulates the viewing figures so that intelligent TV (think The West Wing) soars and trash TV (think Footballers’ Wives) sinks. His plan sparks a cultural revolution but also a backlash from his bosses.
"If The Edukators was about economic revolution, about poor vs. rich, this film will be more about cultural revolution, about freeing the mind," Weingartner told The Hollywood Reporter. "But it will also be funny and suspenseful and with a love story in the middle of it all."
With $3.2 million to spend, Weingartner will kick off filming in August in Berlin.