The Kidd here...
This is going to be a tough one for DreamWorks Pictures to pull off, but the studio and Participant Media have secured the rights to the Boston Globe's investigation of the Catholic Church, which pulled back the curtain on the priest sex abuse they had been covering up.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that Tom McCarthy (WIN WIN and THE VISITOR) is lined up to direct and co-write along with Josh Singer (THE FIFTH ESTATE) after the life rights to the Globe's "Spotlight Team" were acquired. The untitled film would center around the paper's reporters and editors who, through interviews and review of a countless number of documents, were able to break the story of the Church's cover-up attempts that had kept the pedophilic abuse under wraps in order to protect the institution and not the victims.
The team won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage, but, once again, this is a very delicate line to walk for a motion picture. I think there is a compelling story to be told here, but let's remember there really are no heroes in any of this. Yes, the Globe's team brought these atrocities to light, but no film should aim to paint them as the victors in this story, as, even with their reporting, the actions of these priests over decades remain.
I have no doubt they'll treat this subject matter with the utmost respect, but, as a film, it's going to come down to execution as to how it winds up playing.
-Billy Donnelly
"The Infamous Billy The Kidd"
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