Young Americans has finally come together. Previously titled College Republicans and then Young Republicans, the film is based on true events from the 1970s and follows future political heavies Karl Rove and Lee Atwater “on a wild road-trip through the South all the way to the White House in a crash course of dirty tricks and politics.”
According to Deadline, the movie now has the funding to go forward. Director John Krokidas will reteam with his Kill Your Darlings stars Daniel Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan, who will star as Atwater and Rove, respectively. Atwater is the more “free-wheeling” of the two while Rove was “a straight-laced and ambitious student who was running for the head of the College Republicans.” Amanda Seyfried will co-star as “Kate King, a young political femme fatale they meet along the way who secretly threatens to beat the boys at their own game.”
The movie is sure to be controversial because it will be interpreted as either too hard or too soft on Atwater/Rove depending on the depth of your political affiliation. While controversy is inevitable when making a movie about a living political figure (I seriously doubt we’ll ever see Rodham), I hope that the film will be appreciated on its own merits rather than how well it represents its subjects. I was a huge fan of Kill Your Darlings, and Young Americans sounds like it has a terrific story.
Filming on Young Americans begins this fall.
Radcliffe has been keeping busy having recently wrapped on Now You See Me 2 and moving on to play Rockstar Games’ co-founder in Grand Theft Auto. He’ll be seen in theaters later this year as Igor in Victor Frankenstein. As for DeHaan, he recently signed onto the indie drama Two Lovers and a Bear as well as Gore Verbinski’s horror film, A Cure for Wellness.
