Trumbo

[projekktor id=’22149′]

Trumbo is a biographical drama directed by Jay Roach (The Campaign, Meet the Fockers). It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this year and stars Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Louis C.K., Elle Fanning, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Helen Mirren.

Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo’s acclaimed career comes to a crushing halt in the late 1940s when he and other Hollywood figures are blacklisted for their political beliefs. Directed by Jay Roach, Trumbo recounts how Dalton used words and wit to win two Academy Awards and expose the absurdity and injustice of the blacklist, which entangled everyone from gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) to John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Otto Preminger.

“I think most people have at least heard of the blacklist,” says director Jay Roach. “They may even know the name Dalton Trumbo and be aware that he was a phenomenally successful screenwriter who was blacklisted in 1947 for his political beliefs. He was, in fact, the highest paid screenwriter in the world when he was blacklisted. He was talented, prolific and outspoken about what he believed. He could also be cantankerous and annoying and aggressive. On top of that, he was a communist – a very wealthy communist, which makes for a complicated and interesting story.”

Trumbo is rated 14A.