In the summer of Summer of 1973 America witnesses the dirtiest election in its history – for the chairmanship of the national College Republicans club.
Now James Schamus, writer of The Ice Storm and producer of Brokeback Mountain is going to direct the story of that election in College Republicans. Based on true events and described as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels but about politics, he has cast Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) and Asa Butterfield (Sex Education) in his to lead roles.
Butterfield will play a young Karl Rove. He heads off on a trip through the South with his campaign manager Lee Atwater (Lerman) to do some backroom deals and gain some votes. Along the way they meet Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, and Jeff Sessions.
At the heart of the story will be Atwater’s battle with young Republican Kate King (Kristine Froseth) that is said to represent an amalgamation of several people.
Wes Jones (Billions) wrote the script over 10 years ago and it topped the Black List in the year it was written. The script is described as meticulously researched.
Production will begin next year once financing comes on board and a distribution deal is landed. Schamus, Anthony Bregman, Franklin Leonard and Peter Cron are producing the movie which will apparently delve into how the new generation of Republican, at the time, shaped the party into it’s modern version.
