A major Hollywood studio has bought the rights to a screenplay about the Iowa Caucuses.
Beau Willemon’s stage play "Farragut North" is set in Iowa during a fictional caucus campaign. The play was first performed on stage last fall in New York. It’s now on stage in L.A.
Willemon says he’s finished the screenplay for producers George Clooney and Leonardo Dicaprio. Warner Brothers bought the rights, but the playwright says what will happen’s next is anyone’s guess.
"I don’t know the exact stage the studio and the production companies are at," he says, "but, you know, I’m optimistic the play will get made sooner rather than later."
Willemon worked for Howard Dean’s Iowa campaign in 2004 and based the tale on his experiences.
"The first scene actually takes place in the bar/restaurant next to the lobby of the Hotel Fort Des Moines which, as anyone from Des Moines knows, is one of the hotels where candidates and their staffs hole up," Willemon says. "And I certainly spent a lot of time there when I worked for Dean."
The play’s main character is not a candidate, but a political operative who is brought down by ambition and pride. Some in Hollywood say that role could be played by DiCaprio if the project makes it into production.