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Representatives for Penn and Warner Bros. didn't comment Tuesday
on the movie's protagonist but said he's based on a real person.
When Penn attended the 2022 hearings of the House Select
Committee investigating the deadly attack on the Capitol, he sat
between Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police officers Michael
Fanone and Daniel Hodges, both of whom responded to the attacks.
Fanone testified that he rushed to the scene and was “grabbed,
beaten, tased, all while being called a traitor to my country.”
The assault, which stopped only when he said he had children,
caused him to have a heart attack. Hodges also testified about
his harrowing experience.
At the hearings, Penn said he was attending as “just another
citizen” to observe and see if justice would be served.
The film is described as being about “an unexpected friendship.”
Production is expected to start mid-2027.
The movie's announcement comes just days after the U.S. Justice
Department said it will not challenge Paramount Skydance's
proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The $111 billion
deal, agreed to in February, will put the Warner Bros. film
studio under the control of David Ellison, Paramount’s chief
executive.
Ellison and his father, the Oracle founder Larry Ellison, have
strong ties to President Donald Trump. On Sunday, Ellison
attended the Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White
House.
“One Battle After Another,” hailed as a timely political film,
won best picture at the Academy Awards in March. Penn won his
third Oscar for his racist military zealot Col. Steven J.
Lockjaw, but skipped the ceremony to instead visit Ukraine.
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