Aaron Sorkin (“The West Wing,” “Newsroom”) is no stranger to creating politically charged TV series and movies.
Netflix is now hoping to secure the global rights to “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” a film written and directed by Sorkin, per Variety.
The activist group Chicago 7 were accused of inciting riots during the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, when anti-Vietnam War protestors took the streets.
Leaders of the movement included Tom Hayden, Jerry Rubin, Bobby Seal and Abbie Hoffman. The government later charged them with conspiracy.
The cast includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Jeremy Strong, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Frank Langella, William Hurt, Michael Keaton and Mark Rylance.
Sorkin, known for addressing serious social and political events, won an Oscar for adapted screenplay of “The Social Network.” Cross Creek will financed and produce “Chicago 7,” which captures a volatile time in U.S. history.
Paramount originally planned to give the film a limited release on September 25, 2020 before a wider release October 16. Netflix hopes to release “The Trial of the Chicago 7” before the presidential election in November.
The streamer just released Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods,” which revolves around black Vietnam vets, and is set, in part, during the Vietnam War.