Lionsgate has dropped “Rodham,” the upcoming movie about Hillary Clinton’s early years, TheWrap has learned. The producers are currently searching for a new home for the project, which James Ponsoldt is still attached to direct.
Lionsgate did not disclose a reason for not renewing its option on “Rodham,” which expired this past February. A spokesperson for the studio declined to comment.
Clinton did not pressure the studio to let go of the project, though it’s unlikely the film would have benefited her presidential campaign. Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-chairman Rob Friedman and his wife, Shari, hosted an afternoon fundraiser for the former Secretary of State on Sept. 27.
Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen of Temple Hill Entertainment are producing “Rodham” with Richard Arlook of the Arlook Group. They had originally hoped to start production in the spring of 2014, according to reports.
The producers have had discussions with Robin Swicord to rewrite Young Il Kim’s original screenplay, which was voted to the 2012 Black List of Hollywood’s best unproduced screenplays. While Swicord has expressed interest in working on “Rodham,” she is not officially involved with the project and won’t be until it finds a new financier.
Set during the height of the Watergate scandal, “Rodham” finds Hillary as the youngest lawyer chosen for the House Judiciary Committee to Impeach Nixon. She soon finds herself forced to choose between a destined path to the White House and her unresolved feelings for Bill Clinton, her former boyfriend who now teaches law in Arkansas.
Ponsoldt is currently filming the Tom Hanks–Emma Watson movie “The Circle,” which makes it unlikely that “Rodham” could hit theaters before next year’s election in November.