It’s been just over a year since the January 6th terrorist attack on the Capitol, and while hundreds have been prosecuted, there are still plenty of big fish left to fry. In short, that story is far from over, but a major film is already in the works about it, and it comes from the combination of writer Billy Ray and Don’t Look Up director Adam McKay.
Deadline reports Billy Ray will write and direct J6, a film about the U.S. Capitol terrorist attack, with McKay on board to produce. The film is being shopped around, with Showtime, the home of Ray’s recent political series The Comey Rule, having already dropped out. Don’t worry, someone will pick it up.
Ray crafted the screenplay after a series of interviews with Capitol police officers Michael Fanone and Harry Dunn, along with members of Congress who were there during the attack and were trapped inside. I presume not the ones who helped instigate it?
This is going to be serious hot-button stuff here. The January 6th attack was spurred on by months of the former White House occupant spinning “The Big Lie”, that he really won the 2020 Presidential election. A post-election rally in DC, led by Donald Trump and others in his circle, encouraged a mob of thousands to descend on the Capitol and “fight like Hell” to keep him in office. Those supporters proceeded to bust into the Capitol and desecrate it, all while hunting down members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence, who they openly threatened to hang for not having backed Trump’s coup attempt.
McKay has been fiercely political of late, so this is right in his wheelhouse. His most recent film, Don’t Look Up, is among the most watched ever in Netflix’s history, but is also ideologically divisive. He also directed Vice, a film about former VP Dick Cheney. Billy Ray’s prior work includes The Hunger Games, Breach, and Shattered Glass.
