If the announcement of the fall festival lineups didn't get you primed for the awards season, perhaps this will. One film that many have expected to be a major contender since the day it was announced is Truth, which stars Robert Redford as Dan Rather and Cate Blacnhett as 60 Minutes producer Mary Mapes. The credentials just between the two leads speak for themselves, and Sony Pictures Classics has put the film right in the middle of the Oscar race with an October 16th release.
Written by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, The Amazing Spider-Man) who will be making his directorial debut, the film centers on the Killian Documents scandal that destroyed Rather's legendary career. The pair had uncovered evidence that President George W. Bush, who was in the midst of a re-election campaign, had received preferential treatment to get out of fighting in the Vietnam War. When the evidence was scrutinized then discredited, Rather was accused of bias and CBS News was nearly destroyed in the aftermath. Both he and Mapes were fired as a result. The scandal became known as "Rathergate" in the media.
The film co-stars Topher Grace, Dennis Quaid, Elisabeth Moss, and Bruce Greenwood. Given that Blanchett is also expected to get a heavy Best Actress push for her performance in Todd Haynes' Carol, we could be seeing the actress competing against herself.
