Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie, and Laura Dern will star in the drama Monsanto from writer-director John Lee Hancock, which Rocket Science and CAA Media Finance will introduce to Cannes buyers next week.
Powell, coming off the box office hit Anyone But You and star of Richard Linklater’s upcoming Hit Man, will play Brent Wisner, a young untested attorney who agrees to represent Dewayne “Lee” Johnson (Mackie) in a case against Monsanto after Johnson was diagnosed with cancer following years of he using the agrochemical giant’s weed killer in his job as a high school groundsman.
During the trial, Dr Melinda Rogers (Dern), Monsanto’s chief toxicologist, testifies that the product, Roundup, is safe.
The project is based on the actual case involving Johnson, who took Monsant to court after he was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin Lymphoma.
The Monsanto script was developed in association with Karl Spoerri’s Zurich Avenue and written by Michael Wisner, Alexandra Duparc, Ned Benson, and Hancock.
Moritz Borman, Eric Kopeloff, Philip Schulz-Deyle and Jon Levin are producing alongside HyperObject Industries’ Adam McKay and Kevin Messick.
Rocket Science will launch international sales and CAA Media Finance handles US rights.
“I was drawn to this contemporary David vs. Goliath true story because I found it dramatic, moving, quite funny and of critical importance in today’s world,” said Hancock. “My ambitions are to deliver a smart, thoughtful and commercial legal drama that takes the audience on a human journey.”
Hancock’s directing credits include The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks, The Founder, and The Highwaymen.
Mackie starred in The Hurt Locker and The Banker and will be seen next year in the title role of Captain America: Brave New World. Dern’s many credits include Marriage Story, Little Women, Big Little Lies Jurassic Park, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, and Palm Royale.
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