Hugh Jackman to play Sen. Hart in ‘Frontrunner’

Elgort to portray JFK in WWII drama ‘Mayday 109’

LOS ANGELES, June 28, (RTRS): Hugh Jackman will star as Sen. Gary Hart in Jason Reitman’s political drama “The Frontrunner.”

Hart was the frontrunner during the early stages of the 1988 race for the Democratic presidential nomination when his campaign was rocked by revelations of an extramarital affair with Donna Rice. The Colorado senator then dropped out of the race.

Matt Bai, Jay Carson, and Reitman wrote the screenplay, based on Bai’s book “All the Truth Is Out,” which chronicles Hart’s rise and dramatic fall. Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, who had been trailing Hart, won the Democratic nomination and then lost to Republican George H.W. Bush.

“The Frontrunner” is being produced by Jason Reitman and Helen Estabrook through their Right of Way Films in partnership with Bron Studios’ Aaron L. Gilbert.

Jackman starred in Fox’s “Logan,” which grossed $618 million worldwide for Fox. He will next be seen in “The Greatest Showman,” a biopic of P.T. Barnum.

Reitman’s first film, “Thank You for Smoking,” was set in the world of Washington, DC, lobbyists. He was nominated for Academy Awards for directing “Juno” and “Up in the Air.” He’s in post-production on “Tully,” which stars Charlize Theron and is written by Diablo Cody.

Jackman is repped by WME and Sloane Offer. Reitman is repped by

WME and Jackoway Tyerman.

“Baby Driver” star Ansel Elgort has signed on to play John F. Kennedy in the drama “Mayday 109,” based on the 1943 sinking of Kennedy’s PT boat during World War II.

The project has been in development since 2015, when Beau Flynn and Basil Iwanyk acquired a script by Samuel Franco and Evan Kilgore. Kent Kubena and Taylor Zea will oversee for Thunder Road and Scott Sheldon will oversee for Flynn Picture Co. No director is yet attached.

Kennedy was the commander of patrol torpedo boat PT 109 in the South Pacific when it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer Amagin, killing two crewmen. With the crew presumed dead by allies, Kennedy led the 11 survivors in swimming to a deserted island, where the crew had to hide from passing Japanese barges.

Kennedy swam over two miles to two other islands in search of help and food, then led his men to Olasana Island, which had coconut trees and drinkable water, before they were rescued. He and his shipmates engaged friendly locals and after scrawling an SOS on a coconut, they were finally located by rescuers.

Warner Bros. released “P.T. 109” in 1963 with Cliff Robertson starring as Kennedy. It was the first commercial theatrical film about a president released while he was still in office.

Flynn’s producing credits include “San Andreas,” “Hercules” and “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunter.” Iwanyk produced “The Town,” “Sicario” and “John Wick.”

Elgort broke out in “The Fault in Our Stars” and is the lead actor in Sony’s “Baby Driver,” which was to open Wednesday.

“The Boondock Saints” director Troy Duffy is making his return to directing for the first time in nearly a decade with the psychological thriller “The Blood Spoon Council.”

Producer Scott Clayton and his Oceanside Media announced Tuesday that he’s producing and fully financing “The Blood Spoon Council.” Duffy last directed “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” in 2009.

“The Blood Spoon Council” is titled after a vigilante group of the same name that hunts down and executes serial killers. When the FBI commissions a rogue profiler to get inside the head of the group, the investigation is derailed by a game of cat-and-mouse.

Duffy is developing the feature “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em” and the comedy “Black Ghost,” which he is writing with Cedric The Entertainer. He’s partnered with Don Carmody of DCTV to create “The Boondock Saints: Origins.”