Showtime has announced that a movie called "The Jayson Blair Project" will air next year. Yes, based on former Newsweek writer Seth Mnookin's stories about lying and plagiarizing former Times reporter Jayson Blair. The Daily News talks to writer-producer Jon Maas about the black comedy: Maas yesterday said he has more interviewing to do before writing the screenplay. "I don't want to pull a Jayson Blair on Jayson Blair." Showtime's president, Robert Greenblatt, tells the Post, "This film will explore what made Jayson Blair so self-destructive and how his actions single-handedly destroyed his journalism career."
Let's start the casting:
- Omar Epps for Jayson Blair; yes, at 5'10", he's too tall, and he's too good-looking, but barring a cloning machine bringing us a mid-period Urkel, we say Epps has bank
- Nutsa Kukhianidze for Zuza Glowacka, the girlfriend
- Joe Don Baker or Paul Guilfoyle for Howell Raines
- Bill Duke or Bill Nunn for Gerald Boyd
- Dylan Baker for Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.
Other thoughts?
Gothamist on Jayson Blair
