If 2012 was the year of the powerful woman in Hollywood, with female filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow directing a bullet/explosion-dodging Jessica Chastain in the award-winning Zero Dark Thirty, we can only imagine what to expect from the forthcoming year that will present us with Rodham, a biopic of former First Lady/Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Rodham is likely to come out some time around the next presidential election (2016, when Clinton herself may very well be a candidate), and will be helmed by Smashed writer-director James Ponsoldt. The script, which gives us Clinton during her "early years," was penned by first-timer Young Il Kim, with producers Richard Arlook, Marty Bowen (whose past work includes the Twilight film franchise) and Wyck Godfrey (who also produced the Twilight films, along with the likes of Will Smith-starrer I, Robot) onboard.
The film will grant us a glimpse of Rodham as a young lawyer in 1974 Washington DC set amidst the backdrop of the aftermath from the Watergate scandal that resulted in the resignation of President Richard Milhous Nixon.
Now that we know about the plot and the filmmakers, the only question left is a simple one: Who will play Hillary Rodham Clinton?
In looking for just the right woman to play Clinton, Ponsoldt is leaving no stone unturned, hoping to find someone who will bring to the role enough vitality to break through political biases or barriers.
"Regardless of people's political affiliation or how they feel about Hillary Clinton, you don't find people who question the quality of her intelligence or her drive," Ponsoldt said as relayed by the Independent. "I want a wonderful actress who could embody that."
The four front-runners for the coveted role of Clinton are:
- Scarlett Johansson, who was recently seen alongside Anthony Hopkins in biopic Hitchcock, in which she played Janet Leigh. Johansson is of course also known for her full, pouty lips; sultry, gravelly voice and shock of strawberry-blonde hair, all of which can be seen/heard in such films as Ghost World and The Avengers.
- Amanda Seyfried is more than just one of the Mean Girls in the Tina Fey-penned film starring Lindsay Lohan. She's also starred in films ranging from Justin Timberlake-starrer Alpha Dog to Atom Egoyan erotica thriller Chloe to the recent Les Miserables, in which she played none other than Cosette.
- Reese Witherspoon is another actress who's far more than just a pretty face, having starred in such films as Walk the Line (in which she took on another strong female role), Legally Blonde and Election. Despite some recent troubles with the law, Witherspoon still seems to be going all out in her acting career, and has already been tapped to star in the forthcoming Thomas Pynchon adaptation Inherent Vice from filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson.
- Jessica Chastain might not necessarily look very much like the former First Lady, but she certainly has the rising star power and singular combination of innocence and dominance that might be just right for such a juicy role. Chastain was recently seen in gritty horror film Mama from producer Guillermo del Toro and has had a prolific last few years otherwise, starring in such recent films as Tree of Life, The Help and Take Shelter.
"They're all wonderful actresses," Ponsoldt said. "We're very fortunate that a lot of really great actors are interested in playing these roles. We're in an enviable position."
Il-Kim's Rodham script made the rounds after it was listed in the notorious "Black List," which compiles the best unrealized scripts from each year. Earlier this month, a leaked version of the script raised some eyebrows at the Daily Beast thanks to some rather racy sex scenes that led Il-Kim to quip that he hasn't written 50 Shades of Rodham.
"It's an evolving process," Il-Kim said about the screenplay and how much sexual content will end up in the final film, "so I don't know. She was an attractive 26-year-old with an amazing future. And that's our thematic focus."
What do you think about the actresses in the running to play Clinton? Who do you think might do a better job? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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