Star Trek actor Chris Pine is stepping into the legendary shoes of CBS newsman Walter Cronkite in the drama Newsflash. According to Deadline, the film will follow Cronkite during the tumultuous day of November 22, 1963 — the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated — during which he became a trusted voice for the American people.
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Mark Ruffalo is attached to play Don Hewitt, Cronkite’s producer, who worked with his anchorman to search through the swirling rumors to find and report the truth about the events of that fateful November day. The duo met heavy opposition in the form of their boss Jim Aubrey, who nearly scrapped Cronkite and the entire evening newscast in favor of more audience appealing programming.
Ben Jacoby wrote the script for the film, which is being “mobilized” for a January start date by Greg Silverman’s Stampede. Silverman will produce alongside Adam Kolbrenner. The studio is actively looking for a director.
Newsflash was originally slated to star Seth Rogen in the starring role under direction from David Gordon Green, but that project fell through and Green went on to direct last year’s hit thriller Halloween.
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Pine became a household name thanks to his portrayal of Captain Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot, but has since built himself a nice resume filled with unique films such as Hell or High Water, Wonder Woman and the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, among others. He will next be seen reprising his role as Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman 1984.
