News > Greengrass to direct "The Trial of the Chicago 7"

Film School Rejects is claiming they have the scoop on "The Trial of the Chicago 7," which is based on the 2007 documentary "Chicago 10," by Brett Morgan. Steven Spielberg was originally attached to direct, but the project had been put on hold in favor of Tintin and Lincoln. Production Weekly is now listing Paul Greengrass as the director. It would appear that not only is the film back in active development, but Greengrass has taken the helm for Spielberg. See the official synopsis below:

At the 1968 Democratic Convention, protesters, denied permits for demonstrations, repeatedly clashed with the Chicago Police Department, who waged a week-long terror campaign that resulted in riots witnessed live by a television audience of over 50 million. The events had a polarizing effect on the country. Needing to find a scapegoat for the riots, the Government held eight of the most vocal activists accountable for the violence and brought them to trial a year later. The defendants represented a broad cross-section of the anti-war movement, from counter-culture icons Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin to renowned pacifist David Dellinger. Seven of the defendants were represented by Leonard Weinglass and famed liberal attorney William Kunstler, who went head-to-head withprosecution attorney Thomas Foran. The eighth defendant, Bobby Seale, co-chair of the Black Panther Party, insisted on defending himself and was bound, gagged and handcuffed to his chair by Judge Julius Hoffman. From the start, the trial was a circus with the eight defendants on a collision course with the governmental authority.