Seth Rogen to channel Cronkite in JFK Assassination Drama 'Newsflash'
Film to focus on CBS coverage of 1963 JFK assassination.
By REUTERSUpdated: DECEMBER 12, 2017 09:21Compilation photo of Walter Cronkite and Seth Rogen(photo credit: REUTERS/MARIO ANZUONI/U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY SENIOR CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER TERRY A.)
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - Seth Rogen will play legendary anchor Walter Cronkite in the upcoming film "Newsflash," centered on CBS' coverage of the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.David Gordon Green is directing the drama from Ben Jacoby's script. Former Warner Bros. production president Greg Silverman is producing through his Stampede Ventures, along with Adam Kolbrenner of Madhouse Entertainment.Cronkite, who began working as a radio announcer in 1935, had been named the anchor of CBS' nightly newscast in 1962. The pic will also feature include Cronkite, newsman Dan Rather, producer Don Hewitt, and CBS network president James Aubrey.The network broke into its broadcast of "As the World Turns" for Cronkite to announce that Kennedy had been shot in Dallas. CBS returned to the soap opera, then interrupted it again with Cronkite's announcement of Kennedy's death: "From Dallas, Texas, the flash, apparently official: President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time. 2 o'clock Eastern Standard Time, some 38 minutes ago." Cronkite, 46 at the time, was referred to as "the most trusted man in America." He retired in 1981 and died in 2009.Rogen stars in James Franco's "The Disaster Artist." His dramatic roles include "50/50" and "Steve Jobs," portraying Steve Wozniak.Green's credits include "Pineapple Express," "The Sitter," "Manglehorn," "Joe," and Jake Gyllenhaal's "Stronger." He's attached to direct the reboot of "Halloween" starring Jamie Lee Curtis.
