The trailer for Bombshell has revealed the first official look at Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly and Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson.
The Oscar-tipped drama will tell the story of how the late Fox News boss Roger Ailes was brought down by accusations of sexual harassment. The Oscar-winning actors star alongside Margot Robbie, who will play a fictionalised producer; John Lithgow will play Ailes. The cast also includes Kate McKinnon, Allison Janney, Connie Britton, Rob Delaney and, as Rupert Murdoch, Malcolm McDowell.
Theron, last seen in the romantic comedy Long Shot, recently spoke about how playing Kelly increased her understanding of the since disgraced TV personality. “I didn’t know how complicated her situation was, and I think, for a lot of people, they didn’t understand why she didn’t just speak up,” she said. “She was in a complicated place, and as a human being I have empathy for that. I don’t think a lot of people truly understood that.”
Lithgow has stressed that the film is about the women who stood up against Ailes rather than about Ailes himself. “There’s so much talk about the very good signs that there’s so many great women’s stories being told,” he said at Sundance earlier this year. “This might be one of the best, because it really is about six or seven extremely different women who have extremely different experiences and response of the crisis at Fox. I play the crisis.”
Bombshell is directed by Jay Roach, whose big-screen credits include Austin Powers, Meet the Parents and Trumbo. He was also behind the award-winning political TV movies Game Change and Recount. – Guardian
Bombshell is due to be released on December 20th
