Casting on Peter Landesman’s historical drama Felt is heating up – and fast. Yesterday brought news that Liam Neeson will portray the role of Mark Felt (AKA Deep Throat), the elusive whistleblower that disclosed all manner of secret information to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein circa 1972. An instrumental figure in exposing the Richard Nixon administration in what later become known as the Watergate scandal, the series of events are an important fixture in the history of the United States, and Landesman is on the verge of cracking open the archives for his nascent drama.
As Felt edges closer and closer to beginning production in earnest, we now have word of Diane Lane (Man of Steel, Unfaithful) boarding the project as Felt’s ambitious, yet troubled significant other, Audrey.
Pitched as a taut spy thriller, Landesman’s take on the infamous scandal will orbit around the personal and professional life of the titular FBI special agent, and how becoming embroiled as the mysterious source of information affected his life. Sacrificing his family life, career and personal freedom in the name of justice, Mark Felt’s true identity remained off the record for more than 30 years, before the man himself emerged from the shadows with the shocking revelation in 2005.
But this isn’t simply a one-dimensional story. According to the studio, Diane Lane’s Audbrey is a fundamental part of that character arc, who also shouldered most the burden of housing a spy and supposed traitor under her roof during a turbulent time period. As history has taught us, all of this culminated in the resignation of Richard Nixon from the White House, and it’ll be fascinating to see how the director handles such a pertinent topic.
With a star-studded ensemble beginning to form, we expect Felt to enter production during the early stages of 2016.
