Oscar-winning actress Allison Janney is joining the star-studded cast of Annapurna’s upcoming untitled film about the sexual harassment scandal that put an end to the career of former Fox News head Roger Ailes.
Janney is boarding the Charles Randolph project as legendary attorney and political operative, Susan Estrich, who in 2016 was retained as Ailes’s legal counsel.
The film, directed by Jay Roach (“Game Change,” “Trumbo”), will tell the story from the point of view of the women who took on the toxic male culture of Fox News after decades of harassment, which ultimately led to Ailes’ downfall.
The script is being penned by Academy Award-winner, Charles Randolph (“The Big Short”), and Annapurna is producing the film along with Charlize Theron, Beth Kono, and AJ Dix of Denver and Delilah.
The film features an ensemble cast with characters portraying all of those involved at Fox News during Ailes’ tenure. Janney joins a cast that already boasts John Lithgow as Ailes, Theron as Megyn Kelly, Nicole Kidman playing former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, and Margot Robbie in a fictional role of an associate producer.
Ailes resigned from Fox News in 2016 after Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit that resulted in multiple women coming forward with similar claims. At the time, Ailes was considered the mastermind behind the success of Fox News and one of the most powerful men in both media and American politics.
Ailes was named the founding CEO of Fox News in 1996 and the network quickly gained popularity while he called the shots. Fox News is now regularly among the most-watched networks in all of cable and dominates the cable news category.
Roach, Randolph and Lighthouse Management and Media’s Margaret Media are also producing.
Janney will next lend her voice to MGM’s animated reboot of the Addams Family as Margaux Needler, the family’s arch nemesis. That film is set for release in October 2019.
Janney recently wrapped production on “Bert & Bertie’s Troupe Zero” with Viola Davis. The dramatic comedy from Amazon Studios follows a group of elementary school misfits who band together to start a Girl Scout troupe. Lucy Alibar (“Beasts of the Southern Wild”) penned the screenplay and Todd Black produced.
Janney will soon begin shooting “Bad Education” opposite Hugh Jackman, and from director Cory Finley (“Thouroughbreds”), which tells the story of a corrupt public school district administration exposed for embezzlement. Janney will play Pam Gluckin, the business manager of the school district who was embroiled in the scandal.
Janney is repped by Gersh and Thruline Entertainment. Roach is repped by WME, Mosaic and attorney Howard Abramson, and Randolph is repped by CAA and Lighthouse Management and Media.