George Clooney’s ‘Boys In The Boat’ Adaptation With MGM, Spyglass And Smokehouse Sets Top Tier Cast
EXCLUSIVE: George Clooney’s long-awaited adaptation of The Boys in the Boat looks to be gearing up production as sources tell Deadline, Clooney has rounded out his cast with Joel Edgerton, Jack Mulhern, Sam Strike, Luke Slattery, Thomas Elms, Tom Varey, Bruce Herbelin-Earle, Wil Coban and Hadley Robinson joining Callum Turner, who was previously announced. MGM, Spyglass and Smokehouse are partnering on the production with Clooney directing and Mark L. Smith writing the script with Chris Weitz writing a previous draft.
Based on No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel James Brown’s 2013 novel The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the pic will tell the triumphant underdog story of the University of Washington men’s rowing team, who stunned the world by winning gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Clooney and his Smoke House Pictures partner Grant Heslov are producing the project with Spyglass executive producing. Clooney has been eyeing this adaptation for some time and came close to directing last year, but when he had the opportunity to direct Tender Bar, he decided to shoot that first and positioned this as his follow-up project. Once Tender Bar was behind him, he set his sights on this and now has his cast in place with production set to start this month.
Edgerton’s most recent credits include Amazon’s The Underground Railroad series and the medieval fantasy film The Green Knight. He will next be seen in MGM’s upcoming Thai cave rescue drama Thirteen Lives, from director Ron Howard. Edgerton is represented by WME and Anonymous Content.
Turner is currently in production on Tom Hanks’ and Steven Spielberg’s Masters Of the Air. Since 2018, he has starred in Warner Bros. Fantastic Beasts franchise, and in 2021 he was nominated for a BAFTA for his work in BBC’s The Capture. Turner is represented by WME and Curtis Brown in the UK.
Mulhern will next be seen in the latest Pet Sematary installment for Paramount + and the Netflix limited drama series Painkiller. He most recently starred opposite Kate Winslet in the HBO limited series Mare of Eastown. He is represented by Gersh and the Burstein Company.
Strike will next be seen in the Neil Gaiman series The Sandman. His additional credits include Chernobyl, the George R.R. Martin series Nightflyers and Mindhunter. He is represented by The Artists Partnership in the UK, Gersh and Circle of Confusion.
Slattery’s credits include Mindy Kaling’s Late Night, Steven Spielberg’s The Post and NBC’s New Amsterdam. He is represented by Innovative Artists and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Elms is a Canadian born actor known for his work on Paramount+’s Skymed and Netflix’s The Order. He is represented by The Characters Talent Agency and Industry Entertainment.
Varey’s recent credits include Ridley Road, Game of Thrones and The Village. He is represented by Grant Parsons at Curtis Brown. Herbelin-Earle (George ‘Shorty’ Hunt) is known for his role on the Netflix drama series, Free Rein. He is represented by Revolution Talent in the UK and Management 360.
Coban’s recent credits include Zack Snyder’s Justice League, The Queen Mary, Waiting for the Barbarians and Origin. He is represented by Curtis Brown.
Robinson stars in Adam McKay’s new HBO series Winning Time, and is currently filming the Netflix feature The Pale Blue Eye. Her previous credits include Amy Poehler’s Netflix feature Moxie, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, and Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking Of Ending Things. She is represented by UTA.
DEADLINE — by Justin Kroll