Kate Mara and Ed Helms are set to star in director John Curran’s “Chappaquiddick,” a fact-based indie film about a fateful scandal in the life of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, TheWrap has learned.
The pair will be joining “Terminator Genisys” star Jason Clarke, who will play Ted Kennedy.
Mara is set to star as Mary Jo Kopechne, the 28-year-old campaign aide to Robert Kennedy who was in Ted Kennedy’s car when it plunged off a bridge on Massachusetts’ Chappaquiddick island.
Helms will portray Joe Gargan, Kennedy’s cousin.
In the accident, which took place on Chappaquiddick on July 18, 1969, Kennedy managed to escape from the car, but Kopechne remained trapped and later died.
The senator failed to notify the police of the accident until the next morning and instead reached out to Gargan and a friend of his to try to find Kopechne in the water.
The incident became a noteworthy scandal in Kennedy’s political career in the U.S. Senate, where he served for 47 years until his death in 2009 at age 77.
The film, written by Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan, will be produced by Mark Ciardi and Campbell McInnes.
Allen, Logan, Chris Cowles and Chris Fenton will executive produce the project.