Michael Keaton, William Hurt Join Aaron Sorkin’s ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’

Justin Kroll

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Michael Keaton and William Hurt have joined the ensemble cast of Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”

Their casting in the historical drama comes with the news that the long-awaited film is finally moving forward, with Paramount Pictures on board for domestic distribution and Cross Creek signing on to finance and co-produce alongside Amblin Partners.

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It will open in limited release on Sept. 25, 2020, and expand into more theaters on Oct. 2, 2020.

The movie is based on the infamous 1969 trial of seven men charged by the federal government with conspiracy and inciting to riot, a result of the counterculture protests in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The trial transfixed the nation and sparked a conversation intended to undermine the U.S. government.

Keaton will play Ramsey Clark, who was the judge that oversaw the trial, and Hurt will play John Mitchell, the attorney general at the time.

They join a star-studded cast that includes Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Frank Langella, Mark Rylance, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Sorkin will direct from his own script with Marc Platt, Stuart Besser, Tyler Thompson and Matt Jackson producing. Marc Butan and Anthony Katagas will serve as executive producers.

Keaton was most recently seen in “Dumbo” as the antagonist, while Hurt was last seen in “The King’s Daughter.”

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