Aaron Sorkin’s ‘The Trial Of The Chicago 7’ Secures Key Deals For Rocket Science At The EFM, Production Fast-Tracked

EXCLUSIVE: Following a strong response from buyers, Aaron Sorkin’s starry drama The Trial Of The Chicago 7 is now being fast-tracked for an early summer start after pre-production was put on pause last December.

Rocket Science was selling the $30M-budgeted drama at the EFM in Berlin last week and closed significant pre-sales for France (Metropolitan), Spain & Latin America (Sun), Scandinavia (Nordisk), Japan (Hakuhodo), Benelux (Searchers), Canada (VVS), Australia & New Zealand (Madman), Israel (United King), Greece & Cyprus (Odeon), Portugal (Lusomundo), Eastern Europe (SPI), Middle East (Front Row), Singapore (Shaws), Taiwan (Moviecloud), Hong Kong (Panorama), India (PVR) and Airlines & Ships (Echo Lake). Multiple were seven figure deals.

Sorkin’s meetings with distributors in Berlin proved a hit and significant deals are also percolating for U.S., UK, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Baltic States. Rocket Science reps international with CAA Media Finance repping U.S.

As we updated ahead of the EFM, the all-star cast will include Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jonathan Majors and Alex Sharp with additional names set to join.

Based on Oscar-winner Sorkin’s screenplay, The Social Network and West Wing scribe will also direct the film which is based on the infamous 1969 trial of seven defendants charged by the federal government with conspiracy and more, arising from the countercultural protests in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The story is set in 1968 and 1969, but speaks to the divisiveness of our times and how young people can take on power.

Redmayne will play Tom Hayden, Baron Cohen is Abbie Hoffman, Rogen will be Jerry Rubin, Gordon-Levitt has been set to play Richard Schultz, Jonathan Majors stars as Bobby Seale, and Alex Sharp will be Rennie Davis.

Producing with Amblin are La La Land, The Girl On The Train and Bridge Of Spies producer Marc Platt and Matt Jackson, producer on Molly’s Game and End of Watch.

Chicago 7 has long been a passion project for Sorkin and will mark his second film as director after he made his feature directorial debut in 2017 with Molly’s Game, which he also wrote. The supremo scribe recently opened Broadway show To Kill A Mockingbird to rave reviews.

Rocket Science’s slate also includes horror pic Queen Mary and Ana Lily Amirpour’s Blood Moon — both due to shoot this year — and Marcel Marceau film Resistance, currently in post-production.