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Charlize Theron is set to play Megyn Kelly in Annapurna Pictures’ film about the sexual misconduct allegations aimed at former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, an individual familiar with project told TheWrap.

The film, which is currently in active development, will feature an ensemble cast with characters portraying Ailes and all those involved at Fox News during his tenure.

The project is currently untitled but will be directed by Jay Roach and written by Charles Randolph (“The Big Short”).

Annapurna is producing the film along with Theron, Beth Kono and AJ Dix of Denver and Delilah. Roach, Randolph and Margaret Riley are also producing.

Ailes resigned from Fox News in 2017 after former anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit that resulted in multiple women coming forward with similar claims. Before the scandals emerged, Ailes was considered the mastermind behind the success of Fox News and one of the most powerful men in both media and American politics.

Ailes was named the founding CEO of Fox News in 1996 and the network quickly gained popularity while he called the shots. Fox News is now regularly among the most-watched networks in all of cable and dominates the cable news category.

Theron is repped by WME and Hansen Jacobson.

Roach is repped by WME, Mosaic and Behr Abramson; Randolph is repped by CAA, Lighthouse and Loeb & Loeb.

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Nicole Kidman is in talks to play former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson in “Fair and Balanced,” Annapurna’s upcoming movie about disgraced Fox News Chief Roger Ailes.

Kidman will join Charlize Theron, who will portray former Fox News host Megyn Kelly. Jay Roach is directing with “The Big Short” scribe Charles Randolph penning the script.

Ailes ran Fox News and helped launch the careers of Kelly, Carlson, and Sean Hannity with his powerful channel. He also was also a prominent figure in Republican circles who helped elect presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush. He was forced to resign in 2016 due to sexual harassment allegations, with Carlson and Kelly’s the most high-profile, and which contributed to his exit from the network.

Theron will also produce, along with Beth Kono and AJ Dix via their Denver & Delilah banner. Roach, Randolph, and Margaret Riley are also producing.

Kidman recently scored an Emmy for HBO’s acclaimed show “Big Little Lies,” which is currently shooting its second season. Her upcoming slate also includes Warner Bros.’ “Aquaman,” “Destroyer,” and “Boy Erased” with Lucas Hedges. She is also set to star in Warner Bros.’ adaptation of “The Goldfinch.” She is repped by CAA and Media Talent Group.

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UPDATE: Deadline has confirmed that Margot Robbie is in talks to join Annapurna’s Fair and Balanced as a fictional Fox News associate producer named Kayla Pospisil. Robbie was nominated for a best actress Oscar last year for I, Tonya and will be next seen in Focus Features’ Dec. 7 release Mary Queen of Scots. Fair and Balanced is the working title, and it’s being billed as a feature that’s about the women of Fox News, not a Roger Ailes biopic per se. Logline: “The film will tell the story of the ensemble of women who took on the toxic male culture of Fox News and helped depose its chief architect.”

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John Lithgow will play Roger Ailes, the Fox News chief who masterfully exploited the country’s political divisions to rise to the top of the cable news heap, in Annapurna’s upcoming drama about the sexual harassment scandal that ended his career.

The Tony and Emmy winner joins a cast of heavyweights that includes Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, and Charlize Theron. The currently untitled film focuses on Ailes’ downfall, zeroing in on a group of female employees who bucked the culture of sexism at the network to oust the news baron from power. Kidman will play Gretchen Carlson, the Fox News anchor who sued Ailes for harassment in July 2016, and Charlize Theron will portray Megyn Kelly, a star at the network whose decision to go public with her own story of abuse was seen as a key turning point. Robbie’s character is said to be a fictional Fox News associate producer. Ailes was fired from Fox News within weeks of Carlson’s suit and after several more women came forward with similar allegations of sexual misconduct. He died roughly a year later at the age of 77. The film is written by Academy-Award winner Charles Randolph (“The Big Short”) and is directed by Jay Roach (“Trumbo”).

This isn’t the only Ailes-related project that’s scheduled to debut soon. Russell Crowe will play the Fox News founder in Showtime’s adaptation of Gabriel Sherman’s book “The Loudest Voice in the Room.” The limited series will be more focused on Ailes’ career and life story, whereas the Annapurna film is centered on the whistle-blowers. It will be told from the point-of-view of these women, not Ailes. Both projects will arrive as issues of workplace safety and harassment are front-and-center in the entertainment industry. After all, it’s easy to draw a line from Ailes to the toppling of other alleged abusers such as Harvey Weinstein, Bill O’Reilly, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey, and Russell Simmons.

Lithgow’s credits include Oscar-nominated turns in “Terms of Endearment” and “The World According to Garp,” along with villainous roles in the likes of “Cliffhanger” and “Raising Cain.” He will next appear in the Mindy Kaling comedy “Late Night” and “Pet Sematary,” an adaptation of the Stephen King novel.

Lithgow recently scored an Emmy for his work as Winston Churchill in Netflix’s “The Crown,” and previously picked up the same honor for “3rd Rock From the Sun” and “Dexter.” On stage, Lithgow won Tonys for “Sweet Smell of Success” and “The Changing Room.” Last winter, he appeared on Broadway in the one-man show “John Lithgow: Stories by Heart.”

Annapurna, which previously backed the likes of “Detroit” and “The Phantom Thread,” is producing the film along with Theron, Beth Kono, and AJ Dix of Denver and Delilah. Roach, Randolph and Lighthouse Management and Media’s Margaret Media are also producing.

Lithgow is repped by UTA, Anonymous Content and attorney Walter Teller.

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EXCLUSIVE: SNL and Ghostbusters star Kate McKinnon is the latest big name to join Annapurna’s untitled Charles Randolph project about the women who took on Fox News kingpin Roger Ailes and the toxic male culture at the network.

In what is her highest-profile non-comedic outing to date, McKinnon will play a producer in the movie, which is due to shoot later this year. Her role is not based on a real person.

As we revealed last week, I, Tonya and Mom star Allison Janney has also joined the A-List cast which includes Charlize Theron (as Megyn Kelly), Nicole Kidman (as Gretchen Carlson), Margot Robbie (as a Fox News associate producer) and John Lithgow (as Ailes). Jay Roach (Trumbo) directs.

Additional characters expected to be portrayed in the ensemble piece include Bill Shine, Judy Roginsky, Jeanine Pirro, Juliette Huddy, Greta Van Sustenen and James and Lachlan Murdoch.

Annapurna is producing with Theron, Beth Kono, and AJ Dix of Denver and Delilah. Roach, Randolph and Lighthouse Management and Media’s Margaret Riley are also producing. Roach’s producing partner Michelle Graham will executive produce.

McKinnon recently starred opposite Mila Kunis in comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me and has Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis’s untitled musical rom-com coming up. Ironically, one of the Emmy winner’s many memorable SNL impersonations is of Fox News host Laura Ingraham. She is repped by UTA, Artists First and Hansen, Jacobson et al.

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Megyn Kelly doesn’t hate that Charlize Theron is playing her in Bombshell.

The former NBC and Fox News personality was asked about the upcoming drama about the fall of disgraced Fox News honcho Roger Ailes. The buzzy trailer for the film — which also stars Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson, whose 2016 sexual harassment lawsuit led to Ailes’s resignation, and Margot Robbie as Fox News associate producer Kayla Pospisil — was released in late August ahead of its Dec. 20 release.

While Kelly told the DailyMail that she doesn’t “know anything about” the movie — she went on to add, “I’m [Theron’s] fan. She seems smart, seems like a good mom, so I could do worse.”Kelly — who came forward after Carlson in making sexual harassment allegations against Ailes — added that she’s unsure if she’ll watch the film.

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