Vulture is reporting that George Clooney is looking at Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, and possibly Chris Pine to star in Farragut North, an adaptation of Beau Willimon’s critically acclaimed play, set during the Iowa primary of a presidential race.
The site says that “the story is set in Des Moines, Iowa, just weeks before the state’s Democratic caucuses officially commence; it follows the exploits of a twenty-something presidential campaign spinmeister/wunderkind named Stephen Myers, and the dirty pool he plays to get his candidate the nomination against a rival senator.”
Clooney is said to be offering the role of Myers to Star Trek‘s Chris Pine, who has played the year in last year’s L.A. stage production.
Hoffman will play Paul Zara, Myers’s hard-bitten veteran boss on the trail. Giamatti is set to play the campaign manager of the rival candidate
Clooney has reportedly has offers out to Evan Rachel Wood (to play a teen staffer with whom Myers has a sexual dalliance) and Marisa Tomei (for the role of a probing journalist). Clooney is also expected to take a small role in the movie.
Shooting is targeted for a February start date.
