The actresses lead an all-star cast in the new film about Ailes’ sexual harassment scandal.
Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie aren’t holding any punches in the full-length trailer for Bombshell. The upcoming film tells the story of the women at Fox News who exposed the Roger Ailes sexual misconduct scandal and took down the TV titan.
Written by The Big Short's Charles Randolph and directed by Jay Roach, Bombshell depicts real-life news anchors Gretchen Carlson (Kidman) and Megyn Kelly (Theron) as well as a composite character, associate producer Kayla Pospisil (Robbie), and others facing years of misconduct by the former Fox News boss.
In addition to the three leads, the cast includes Alice Eve as Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt, Alanna Ubach as Justice With Judge Jeanine host Jeanine Pirro, Allison Janney as Ailes’ legal counsel Susan Estrich, Mark Duplass as novelist Douglas Brunt, Malcolm McDowell as media mogul Rupert Murdoch, John Lithgow as Ailes and Connie Britton as his wife, Beth. In addition to Robbie, Kate McKinnon also plays Jess Car, another composite character working at Fox.
The trailer comes after a brief teaser showing the three women in an elevator seemingly on their way to meet with legal counsel on the second floor ignited the internet with excitement over their portrayals, especially Theron's transformation into Kelly. The clip even caught the attention of the former Fox anchor, who seemed to offer her praise for Theron in an interview with the Daily Mail. “She seems smart, seems like a good mom, so I could do worse,” Kelly said.
Speaking with ET at the premiere of The Addams Family, the actress addressed Kelly’s comments. “That's incredibly kind,” Theron said, admitting that she hadn't heard about the journalist's compliment. “We try to, as actors and creative storytellers, we try to do all of this with integrity, so that was always where it came from. So for her to feel good about that, I'm sure it can't be easy for her, so I'm incredibly understanding.”
The Oscar winner went on to reveal that her on-set transformation even fooled Kidman. “She walked by me at one point and I thought she was mad at me,” Theron later recalled to ET. “I thought, ‘Oh god! What did I do? Did I mess something up in her trailer? Did I not say hi nicely?’”
The 44-year-old actress continued, “She just came up to me and she was like, ‘Charlize?’ and then I said, ‘Yes. Are you mad at me?’ She said, ‘No. I just didn't know that was you!’”
Misunderstandings aside, the women have nothing but support for each other as Kidman demonstrated on the carpet for Elle Women In Hollywood Awards. “This film is a very powerful film… and Charlize really sort of championed getting it made,” she revealed to ET. “So when Margot and I came in, we went, ‘Yeah, of course, we want to be there, we want to support you. We want to get this thing made.’”
Bombshell debuts in theaters on December 2019.
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