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.
