Hill is set to tackle the lead role, while Franco is expected to play a criminal in a Pitt-produced true story movie about a New York Times journalist named Michael Finkel.
- Feb 28, 2012
AceShowbiz - After collaborating in Oscar-nominated film, "Moneyball", Jonah Hill will reunite with Brad Pitt in another fact-based drama called "True Story". Hill is set to team up with James Franco to star in the movie, in which Pitt will serve as the producer through his Plan B banner.
Based on a memoir by journalist Michael Finkel, the upcoming film has tapped Rupert Gold to tackle the directing duty. As for Pitt, he will join force with Dede Gardner to produce the project. According to Deadline, Hill is locked to star as lead protagonist Finkel, while Franco is set to portray a character named Christian Longo.
Finkel was a writer at The New York Times magazine in 2002 when he found out that Longo, a criminal who killed his family, was chased in Mexico after a long stint on the FBI Ten Most Wanted List. The problem was that Longo has been living under the identity of Finkel.
As a result, the real Finkel got fired by The Times' editors right after they made a note declaring that Finkel had falsified parts of an investigative article. When it seemed that Finkel's career is over, Longo suddenly made a confession that the real Finkel was the only journalist he would talk to.
The admission led Finkel to an unlikely relationship with the accused murderer, who tried to prove his innocence. For Finkel, it was an opportunity to uncover the mystery and perhaps redeem himself as a journalist.
"True Story" was initially developed at Paramount Pictures before being given back to Pitt's Plan B. It was reported that the project has just been offered to financiers and that a deal is expected to be sealed possibly later in the week.
After starring in "Moneyball", Hill will soon be seen in "21 Jump Street". He is currently filming "Neighborhood Watch" opposite Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn. His other next project is a voice role in Paramount's animated pic "How to Train Your Dragon". As for Franco, the actor has several upcoming projects on his plate, including "Lovelace", "The Iceman", "Spring Breakers" and "Oz: The Great and Powerful".
