Oscar-nommed Tom Wilkinson to play Lyndon B. Johnson in MLK filmMarch 31, 2014 - 18:32 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Two-time Oscar nominee Tom Wilkinson is being eyed to play President Lyndon B. Johnson alongside David Oyelowo in Ava DuVernay's MLK movie “Selma,” TheWrap reported. Oprah Winfrey is producing with Brad Pitt and his Plan B partners Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, as well as Christian Coulson and Pathe's Cameron McCracken. The drama follows MLK's landmark 1965 voting rights campaign, which is regarded as the peak of the civil rights movement. Wilkinson is in early talks to play LBJ, who gave an eloquent speech about voting rights one week after deadly racial violence erupted in Selma, Alabama. Former publicist DuVernay (“Middle of Nowhere”) rewrote Paul Webb's original screenplay, and it was her draft that convinced Winfrey to join the project. Lee Daniels was previously attached to direct “Selma” and he had lined up an impressive cast including Oyelowo, Hugh Jackman as Sheriff Jim Clark and Liam Neeson as LBJ. Wilkinson, who received Oscar nominations for his performances in “In the Bedroom” and “Michael Clayton,” recently starred in “The Lone Ranger” and can currently be seen in Wes Anderson's “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” His upcoming movies include the Joel Edgerton thriller “Felony,” the Vince Vaughn comedy “Business or Pleasure,” the James Franco thriller “Good People,” the Kevin James dramedy “Little Boy” and the Katherine Heigl comedy “Jenny's Wedding.” Related links: Top stories The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. The festival made the news public on March 19, saying that “several options are considered in order to preserve its running” Partner news | Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Azerbaijan must respect human rights, Scholz tells Aliyev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for greater respect for human rights in Azerbaijan. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. |