Logan Lerman is in negotiations to play newscaster Dan Rather in “Newsflash,” centered on CBS’ coverage of the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
If the deal goes through, Lerman will portray Rather as a co-worker of Walter Cronkite in the movie. Rather had joined CBS in 1962 and had been appointed chief of the southern bureau in New Orleans.
Seth Rogen came on board last month to portray Cronkite. David Gordon Green is directing the drama from Ben Jacoby’s script. Former Warner Bros. production president Greg Silverman is producing through his Stampede Ventures, along with Adam Kolbrenner of Madhouse Entertainment.
The network broke into its broadcast of “As the World Turns” for Cronkite to announce that Kennedy had been shot in Dallas. CBS returned to the soap opera, then interrupted it again with Cronkite’s announcement of Kennedy’s death: “From Dallas, Texas, the flash, apparently official: President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time. 2 o’clock Eastern Standard Time, some 38 minutes ago.”
“Newsflash” will also feature portrayals of producer Don Hewitt and CBS network president James Aubrey.
Lerman’s credits include “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “Fury,” and Darren Aronofsky’s “Noah.” He will be seen next in A24’s “The Vanishing of Sidney Hall,” which will be released next month. He is repped by WME, Brillstein and Hirsch Wallerstein.
