I think Hollywood might be working toward a collective escape from this political climate in an interesting way. The motif of a dead president in film and television has often been used more as a device of right wing-leaning thrillers and action flicks where the political bad guy of the month is either invading or needs to be invaded by some stalwart secret service agent/CIA agent/elite military group. Now, Hollywood is fantasizing about a dead president–but for fun!
Coupled with The Shining in the the White House, it seems pop culture is leaning more toward the presidency itself as something less than hallowed, and that’s fine. It’s time to open up the political genre to more colorful fair.
In the style of Knives Out or Clue, Murder in the White House sees the president killed during a private dinner party, and a female secret service agent has to figure out who the killer is by morning to prevent a peace agreement from falling through and leading to war. I like the idea of someone inside the White House being worried about America going to war when America is always in a bunch of wars and has been for just about my entire life.
The script was bought from writers Jonathan Stokes, Neal Moritz, and Toby Jaffe. There are no other details at this time.
Paramount, Original Film Buy Jonathan Stokes Spec Script ‘Murder In The White House’ [Deadline]
