In the works for nearly two decades, Rob Reiner's biopic on President Lyndon B. Johnson may finally be moving ahead with an unexpected actor playing the POTUS. According to Showbiz411 (via ThePlaylist), Woody Harrelson will take on the lead role of Johnson, who was most recently played by Tom Wilkinson in Ava DuVernay's Selma.
Reiner had been planning to adapt Robert Caro's "Means of Ascent", part of a comprehensive series of books on Johnson, as the basis for the film. That may or may not be the case any longer as the current screenplay comes from Joey Hartstone, whose screenplay for LBJ made the Black List last year. Here's the plot synopsis:
Lyndon Johnson goes from powerful Senate Majority Leader, powerless Vice President to President of the United States following the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Many complained about the depiction of Johnson in Selma, in which he was portrayed as a reluctant ally to Martin Luther King Jr.'s cause. There are those who say he was more supportive than that, and perhaps this film will depict that side of him. While casting is underway for other key figures of the time such as Robert Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey, Ted Sorenson, and Jackie Kennedy, there's still no firm start date. So who knows when or if this will actually get off the ground. It would be nice to see Reiner make a meaningful film again, though.
