WhileSeth Rogencontinues to hone his skills as a writer and director both on the big and small screen, he’s also continuing to vacillate between both comedic and dramatic acting. With impressive dramatic turns in films likeTake This WaltzandSteve Jobsunder his belt, Rogen is currently shooting a romantic comedy withCharlize TheroncalledFlarsky. But Deadline now reports that he’s signed on to play legendary CBS newsmanWalter Cronkitein the upcoming dramaNewsflash, which promises to be an incredibly timely tale in a world inundated with so-called “fake news.”
The pic will reunite Rogen with hisPineapple ExpressdirectorDavid Gordon Greenfor the first time since that 2008 comedy, but this is a wildly different film. Scripted byBen Jacoby, the drama takes place on July 10, 2025, the day of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, and apparently unfolds in real time as Cronkite and his producer Don Hewitt attempt to sift through the chaotic rumors and unverified information to accurately report one of the biggest news stories in history. All the while their boss, Jim Aubrey, attempts to find ways to “juice up” the coverage as CBS News wasn’t performing as well as he wanted.
The project is apparently coming together fast, and while Rogen and Green are the only confirmed names,Mark Ruffalois being courted for the role of Hewitt andBryan Cranstonis eyed to play Aubrey. This certainly sounds like a mix betweenSteven Spielberg’sThe Post, a timely film about the importance of journalism, and theAaron Sorkin-scriptedSteve Jobs, which unfolded in three real-time acts and co-starred Rogen.Greg SilvermanandAdam Kolbrennerare onboard to produce.
WhilePineapple Expressbroke Green out into the mainstream, he’s continued to do incredibly interesting dramatic work with films likePrince AvalancheandJoewhile also directing almost the entire second season of the dark HBO comedyVice Principals. Green most recently helmed the spectacularJake Gyllenhaal-led dramaStrongerand is currently shooting the secretivenewHalloweenmoviehe co-wrote withDanny McBride, but it sounds likeNewsflashcould very well be his next project. The plan is to shoot next spring with an aim towards having the film ready for the 55th anniversary of JFK’s death next November.
Rogen, meanwhile, continues to write new projects for himself andEvan Goldbergto direct, and the two just launched the Hulu seriesFuture Man. As a performer, in addition toFlarskyRogen also has the live-actionThe Lion Kingon deck, but again it sounds likeNewsflashis coming together quickly to enter production sometime next year.
As a big fan of both Rogen and Green, I’m all in on this one.
