Rocket Science announced today that Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You), Anthony Mackie (Avengers: Endgame, The Hurt Locker), and Academy Award winner Laura Dern (Marriage Story, Little Women) will star in the upcoming Monsanto from writer/director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks). The film’s script was developed in association with Karl Spoerri’s Zurich Avenue and written by Michael Wisner, Alexandra Duparc, Ned Benson and Hancock. It is being produced by Moritz Borman, Eric Kopeloff, Philip Schulz-Deyle and Jon Levin alongside HyperObject Industries’ Adam McKay and Kevin Messick.
Rocket Science will launch international sales out of Cannes later this month. CAA Media Finance is handling the domestic rights.
Monsanto tells the true story of young, untried attorney Brent Wisner (Powell) who takes on a seemingly insurmountable case against the giant U.S. chemical company Monsanto on behalf of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson (Mackie) who used Monsanto’s best-known product Roundup, a wildly financially successful weed and grass pesticide killer, as part of his job as a high school groundskeeper. During the trial, Dr Melinda Rogers (Dern), the chief toxicologist of the Monsanto Company, testifies with certainty that Roundup is safe.
Powell said: “I’ve always been fascinated by true stories of ordinary people against extraordinary odds. This story encapsulates that spirit with a critical issue that affects us all. And it’s a privilege to bring it to audiences with an exceptional filmmaker and powerful cast.”
Dern added: “I’ve loved my collaborations with John Lee and look forward to working with him again. There couldn’t be a more vital story to be a part of.”
“I was drawn to this contemporary David vs. Goliath true story because I found it dramatic, moving, quite funny and of critical importance in today’s world,” said director Hancock. “My ambitions are to deliver a smart, thoughtful and commercial legal drama that takes the audience on a human journey.”
McKay said: “These days stories about the “little guy” taking on huge institutions seem few and far between. Both in real life and on the big screen. So, when a story as riveting and inspiring as this one shows up on our desks we get excited. Why? Because people love and need these movies. They always have and always will. Erin Brockovich, Silkwood, It’s a Wonderful Life, Spotlight, 12 Angry Men, Moneyball, Norma Rae… I legitimately think I can list 200 wildly successful and beloved films about real people standing up against overwhelming odds with only fairness and truth on their side. So, let’s make number 201.”
