The 'Avengers' actor will star as the Pulitzer-winning journalist, who tragically committed suicide when his career ended after exposing a CIA scandal in the 1980s.
- February 1, 2013
AceShowbiz -
Jeremy Renner has just snatched a prestigious role for his next film project. The Hawkeye of "The Avengers" is set to star as Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb in a thriller called "Kill the Messenger", to be helmed by Michael Cuesta.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie will be based on the tragic story of Webb, who committed suicide after being denounced for exposing CIA's involvement in helping Nicaragua's Contra rebels import cocaine into California in the 1980s.
In 1996, Webb revealed how the CIA allowed the Contras to smuggle cocaine into the States through a series of articles on the San Jose Mercury News. The money of the illegal drug selling was used to fund their war against Nicaraguan government in the '80s. Webb's career ended after the paper backed down from his report. He was eventually found dead in 2004.
The screenplay is written by Peter Landesman. The "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters" star will also serve as a co-producer along with Don Handfield and Scott Stuber. The project will be introduced at the European Film Market which is held in conjunction with the Berlin International Film Festival. The event will start on February 7.
The producers are set to kick off the production of "Kill the Messenger" this coming summer. Apart from this project, Renner has been sealed to star in an untitled David O. Russell project, about FBI's 1980 undercover sting operation Abscam, which also stars Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Amy Adams.
