Our own Theron against Kidman, in this new Jay Roach Real Life Feature.
A new film reveals the personal and professional cost often paid by women when publicly going into battle with very powerful men.
Bombshell, a film by award-winning director Jay Roach and screenwriter Charles Randolph, tells the explosive story of the women who brought down a powerful media mogul. Based on the real-life chain of events of the Fox News scandal – which saw multiple women accuse former Fox News CEO and chairman Roger Ailes of sexual harassment – it offers a revealing look inside the most powerful and controversial media empire of all time.
While the drama portrays a workplace where women face demeaning comments, policing of their appearance and unwanted sexual propositions by male executives, it focuses specifically on Ailes’s female victims and their battle to bring him to justice. It follows the stories of two women in particular – Gretchen Carlson, played by Nicole Kidman, and Megyn Kelly, depicted by our own Charlize Theron. In 2016, Carlson sued Ailes for sexual harassment, which led more women, including Kelly, to come forward with allegations against him.
Starring alongside these heavyweights is Margot Robbie as Kayla, a young producer who looks to have a future on camera. While fictional, the filmmakers say her character was inspired by the stories of multiple real-life women, whose experiences were amalgamated for the film.
The rest of the hotly anticipated film’s star-studded ensemble includes Connie Britton as Beth Ailes, Allison Janney as Ailes’s lawyer Susan Estrich, Kate McKinnon as a Fox News employee, Nazanin Boniadi as former Fox News correspondent Rudi Bakhtiar, Malcolm McDowell as Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch, Mark Duplass as Kelly’s husband, Douglas Brunt, and Alice Eve as Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt.
Shot in an observational documentary style, Bombshell is gripping and timely and critics are praising the film not only for its handling of a difficult topic and a complicated story, but also for its screenplay and directorial decisions.
The Hollywood Critics Association (LAOFCS) has also nominated Charlize Theron in the Best Actress category of thehe 3rd Annual LAOFCS Awards.
Bombshell is distributed by Filmfinity (Pty) Ltd. and will be released in South African cinemas on 24 January 2020.