11:00 PST 02/05/2021
in
Borys Kit
Stiller will direct the Focus Features film project that adapts the story of Madbody’s Peabody-winning podcast.
Ben Stiller came on board to direct Bag Man, a real life drama based on a Rachel Maddow podcast being developed by Focus Features.
Adam Perlman wrote the script together with Stiller and Mike Yarvitz. The last executive produced the podcast that examined the hidden story of a corruption scandal that struck Richard Nixon’s White House and co-wrote the subsequent book with Maddow.
Stiller and Yarvitz are acting as producers along with Lorne Michaels and Josh McLaughlin.
The story focuses on Spiro T. Agnew, Nixon’s vice president, and his management of a bribe and extortion ring for years. At the height of Watergate, three young federal prosecutors discovered his crimes and launched a mission to overthrow him.
With parallels echoing in very modern times, Agnew, according to the book’s publisher’s description, called the investigation a “witch hunt”, angered his base and planned to obstruct justice.
The podcast and book examined the cover-up attempts and backroom deals that kept Agnew out of prison.
Maddow will be the executive producer of the project, as will Nicky Weinstock, Michael Price, Erin David and Andrew Singer.
Stiller has been focusing on his directorial career lately and looking for his challenge as a director. He received an Emmy nomination for Showtime’s critically acclaimed 2018 limited series, Escape at Dannemora.