And now for something completely different. Kevin Spacey, the actor who has given Washington an even blacker name with his portrayal of the devious Francis Underwood in House of Cards, is now set to portray Winston Churchill, one of the great heroes of the 20th century. Spacey will portray Churchill in his “wilderness years,” when he fought Britain’s policy of appeasement, and then during his first tumultuous months in office as prime minister in 1940.
Conservatives who know Spacey as an outspoken liberal may give pause, but in truth Spacey has kept his personal politics out of House of Cards. After all, Francis Underwood is a Democrat in the series.
In addition, the screenplay is by Ben Kaplan, who wrote a quite fair documentary on Ronald Reagan that aired on the History Channel in 2011 on the 100th anniversary of Reagan’s birth. Kaplan has also written episodes for the History Channel documentary series WWII and Vietnam.
The film, entitled Captain at the Gate, has a budget of $20 million and is produced by Sierra/Affinity Films. I, for one, can’t wait.