2. Thomas Jefferson
A much more complex figure than the high-school history books show, Thomas Jefferson is one of the most intriguing of our America’s founding fathers. He was the focus of 1995’s Jefferson In Paris, but Jefferson definitely deserves a more mainstream film that deals with his time in office.
Jefferson was said to have abhorred slavery, yet he was a slave owner himself and is rumored to have had affairs with his slaves. Maybe that was his way of working against the system of slavery, or maybe he was just a lot more messed up than people are willing to admit one of the great patriots could be. Either way it would make for an extremely dark and complex story.
Jefferson was also president during the Louisiana Purchase, which is possibly the most significant land acquisition in terms of shaping the nation into how it looks today, but the purchase was extremely controversial at the time. The issue was whether such a purchase by the president was constitutional, or if Jefferson was overstepping his limits and infringing on states’ rights. That’d be another highly controversial and dramatic event that the film could highlight.
In terms of his casting, Michael Fassbender would be an excellent Jefferson. They look similar, and Fassbender has proved he’s more than talented enough to take on an iconic historic figure such as Jefferson.
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