The Trial of the Chicago 7: Netflix Eyes Global Rights to Aaron Sorkin Film

The Trial of the Chicago 7: Netflix eyes global rights to Aaron Sorkin’s timely drama

According to Variety, Netflix is currently in negotiations to acquire the worldwide distribution rights to Oscar-winning filmmaker Aaron Sorkin’s timely drama film The Trial of the Chicago 7. Last year, Paramount Pictures was attached to the project and had previously set the film for a limited release on September 25, 2020, and for a wide theatrical release on October 2, 2020. It remains unclear why Paramount has decided to let go a high-profile project like this.

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Based on a true story, The Trial of the Chicago 7  follows protesters who disrupted the 1968 Democrat party convention with an anti-Vietnam war “carnival” that turned nasty. Demonstrators threw bricks, police responded with tear gas and the center of Chicago was engulfed in flames. Curfews only escalated the violence.

After the clashes, independent investigators blamed eight police officers and eight protesters including Hoffman, who had already disrupted the New York Stock Exchange with showers of fake money. The police were not charged but the protesters were accused of inciting a riot. One was jailed for contempt, leaving the seven to fight the charges.

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Sorkin’s second directorial effort will feature Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindewald) as Tom Hayden, Oscar-nominee Sacha Baron Cohen (Who is America?) as Abbie Hoffman, Jeremy Strong (Succession) as as Jerry Rubin, Golden Globe-nominee Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Snowden) as Richard Schultz, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen) as Bobby Seale, Alex Sharp (The Hustle) as Rennie Davis and Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Luce, Waves) as Fred Hamptom. It will also star Michael Keaton, William Hurt, Thomas Middleditch, John Carroll Lynch, Daniel Flaherty, Noah Robbins, Mark Rylance, J.C. MacKenzie and Max Adler, who also serves as an executive producer.

The film will also be executive produced by Matt Jackson. Marc Butan and Anthony Katagas. The Trial of the Chicago 7 will be produced by Oscar nominee Marc Platt (Bridge of Spies, La La Land), Stuart Besser, and Tyler Thompson.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

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