Ben Stiller To Direct Movie Version Of Rachel Maddow’s ‘Bag Man’ Podcast On Corrupt VP Spiro Agnew

For those who think Donald Trump’s criminality in the White House was unprecedented…well, you’re right. However, the Nixon administration came close, and I’m not even talking about Watergate. Nixon’s VP, Spiro Agnew, resigned in 1973 when he fell under investigation for suspicion of criminal conspiracy, bribery, extortion, tax fraud, and for taking bribes while he was in office. His defenses, to attack the media and demean his detractors, was positively Trumpian before there was Trump. The whole thing was detailed beautifully in Rachel Maddow’s podcast, Bag Man, and now it’s becoming a movie.

Behind this movie version of Bag Man is Focus Featues and Ben Stiller, who Deadline says will direct and co-write the script along with Adam Perlman and Mike Yarvitz. Yarvitz not only exec-produced Maddow’s Peabody Award-nominated podcast, but co-write the book adaptation with her.  Other producers include Maddow herself, and SNL creator Lorne Michaels.

Stiller most recently directed Showtime’s Emmy-nominated series Escape at Dannemora. The last film he got behind the camera for was 2016’s Zoolander 2, and before that The Secret Life of Walter Mitty in 2013.

If you haven’t had a chance to listen to Bag Man I definitely recommend it. Maddow goes back decades to dig into the brazen criminality of Agnew, who was receiving envelopes of cash while serving as Vice President. The story is insane, with so many parallels to the administration we thankfully just got rid of.

As a devoted watcher of The Rachel Maddow Show, I can’t wait to see her awkwardly talk about this news because she’s always so embarrassed to talk about her own work.

 

 

Travis Hopson
Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.