Ever since Aaron Sorkin was announced to be writing and directing The Trial of the Chicago 7, it’s been a film many have seen as an obvious awards contender. While it took some time to finally get moving, the all-star cast assembled made up for the wait: Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mark Rylance, Michael Keaton, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Jeremy Strong are among those telling the story of the counter-culture icons arrested for staging a protest against the Vietnam War during the ’68 Democratic National Convention.
Vanity Fair has dropped the first images, showcasing the talent that will be this movie’s calling card. A lot has been made of Cohen’s uncanny resemblance to activist Abbie Hoffman, and that definitely holds true based on what we see here.
Sorkin directs from his own screenplay, but this was originally going to be a film for Steven Spielberg to direct. Paramount acquired the rights, but grew skittish about the budget, which put the movie in limbo. When COVID-19 shut down theaters, they saw the opportunity to sell it off to Netflix, who jumped at the chance to acquire such a high prestige drama.
Also in the cast are Kelvin Harrison Jr., Noah Robbins, Daniel Flaherty, William Hurt, Thomas Middleditch, JC MacKenzie, Caitlin Fitzgerald, and more. The Trial of the Chicago 7 hits Netflix on October 16th, just in time for awards season.
