A Deluge of Kennedys
Thursday, April 28, 2016 at 10:30AM Murtada here. Within the next two years, there will be three movies about The Kennedys. They seem to be as fascinating to filmmakers as the British Royal family. Even less famous members of the family are now subjects of movies.
Diana (2013) was both a car crash and framed its story by a notorious car crash. Now it's time for the Kennedys' own notorious car crash. Announced this week is Chappaquiddick with Jason Clarke as Ted Kennedy. The film tell the story of 1969 tragic car accident that involved Ted and took the life of teacher and political campaigner Mary Jo Kopechne. How Ted handled the aftermath - leaving the scene, waiting hours to report it - led of course to the end of any presidential aspirations he might have had. The film will be directed by John Curran, who previously directed The Painted Veil (2006) and Tracks (2013).
The very busy Emma Stone - currently being Billie Jean King - is set to play another JFK sibling, the lesser-known eldest sister Rose Marie “Rosemary” Kennedy in Letters from Rosemary. Joseph and Rose Kennedy’s first born was lobotomised at the age of 23 after developing violent mood swings that embarrassed her famous family. The film is reportedly about the events leading up to the lobotomy and its aftermath. We assume this might be a project that will not be popular within the family. Not that they would ever comment about any of the many projects about them. Royals don’t do that!
The first project we will likely see though is Pablo Larrain’s Jackie about the immediate aftermath of JFK’s assassination. Once earmarked for Darren Aronofsky and Rachel Weisz, it now stars Natalie Portman as Jackie and Peter Sarsgaard as Bobby. Aronofsky remains a producer. Production pictures have been released months ago, so we assume it’s in post production and might appear on the fall festival circuit. Sarsgaard’s hair seems wrong, although Portman’s costumes are spot on. Jackie tackles much covered territory, what more could be added to those often discussed few days? The other two projects are about more obscure chapters in the family history, which could mean they might be more interesting.
Still that’s just way too many projects about one rich and powerful family. There’s even an upcoming sequel to the 2011 miniseries The Kennedys, with Matthew Perry as Ted and Katie Holmes reprising her Jackie. I’m already exhausted, are you?
Reader Comments (19)
I have absolutely no interest in seeing Ted Kennedy dragged through the mud with a movie about Chappaquiddick. To my knowledge, there's never been a movie made about him before - and THIS is what they choose to focus on? Is it produced by Dinesh D'Souza?
Suzanne-agreed. I am not happy (as a Kennedy devotee) to see Ted's first ever movie being about such a sordid chapter in his career. I'd be more interested in seeing something about, say the 1980 presidential election.
Chappaquiddick is a terrible title for a film.
Jackie looks like another Grace Of Monaco.
Mark-so you're saying Portman is headed for a SAG nomination? ;)
OMG Rachel Weisz could have been a total doppelganger to Jackie though.
I just read a totally wonderful about Jackie and her sister Lee on the VF sisters edition, which makes me wonder who will play her in the movie? She seems to play a great role in the aftermath. And Lee herself should get a biopic of her own!
Jackie is NOT gonna be another Grace. Pablo Larraín is the director.
That said, I hate that Jackie wig.
Yeah and wait 2 years to get a release.
The best thing about the Kennedy Family or the only good one is Marilyn Monroe.
cal roth: Oliver "Downfall" Hirschbiegel directed Diana. Werner "Fitzcarraldo" Herzog directed Queen of the Desert. This could easily be that level of bad.
I remember when TFE posters were claiming that Queen of the Desert and Grace of Monaco were going to be multiple Oscar nominees. If only Nicole were playing Jackie Kennedy!
Craver - Greta Gerwig is in Jackie but there are no details about her part. Could she be Lee?
Just saw a picture of Lee on wikipedia the spitting image of Cate Blanchet only with dark hair, just saying.
My favorite Kennedy portrayals are Bruce Greenwood as JFK, and Barry Pepper as RFK.
Given that I think Portman and Clarke are about 100x more talented than Emma Stone, I'm surprised to say that Stone's film actually sounds the most interesting.
Mathew Perry as Ted? Oh geez.
I have to disagree with the notion the Kennedy's didn't do anything good. I think both the Peace Corps and the Special Olympics are both wonderful.
Both the Ted and Rosemary movies sound exploitive. They are both such tragic stories for the real women involved, not sure the point about making them entertainment.
@Austin They probably wanted to call it TED but the talking teddybear stole that one
Austin and Steve G: If Ted was what they originally wanted to call it? Thank the stars for that. Biopics are a genre that's already getting very hard to sell to cinema goers, such that I think hyperbolic titles are necessary for at least a little bit. (SELMA, the best biopic of the past 5 years, only grossed $66 million, for crying out loud. How much more might it have gotten if it called itself "The Story of Bloody Sunday"?)