Kate McKinnon Joins Annapurna’s Roger Ailes Drama
Photo by Matt Winklemeyer/Getty Movies News Kate McKinnon
Kate McKinnon is trading out her Hillary Clinton impression for something a bit more dramatic. The SNL and Ghostbusters standout is joining a yet-untitled project at Annapurna based on the women who brought down former Fox News head Roger Ailes, per Deadline.
McKinnon’s role is not based on a real person, although we’ll see an ensemble of familiar faces take on real-life Fox News personalities in the forthcoming film. As previously announced, the film will star Nicole Kidman as former Fox & Friends host Gretchen Carlson, Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly and Margot Robbie as an associate producer at the network, all of whom accused controversial Fox News mastermind Ailes of sexual misconduct. John Lithgow will also star in the film as Ailes, who was fired from the network following a number of sexual misconduct allegations the year before his death in 2017.
The film comes from screenwriter Charles Randolph, one-half of the duo behind the Oscar-winning screenplay for The Big Short, along with Adam McKay. Trumbo’s Jay Roach will direct, while Annapurna is producing with star Theron, Beth Kono, and AJ Dix of Denver and Delilah. Roach, Randolph and Lighthouse Management and Media’s Margaret Riley are also producing, while Roach’s producing partner Michelle Graham will executive produce.
This is McKinnon’s most prominent dramatic role to date, but based on her track record, we can expect a strong showing from her in the forthcoming film. She’s proven her range during her varied SNL stint, where she’s done a number of political impressions, including Fox News’ own Lauren Ingraham. During her time on the show, McKinnon has also proven that she can bring a surprising level of pathos to such seeming political punchlines as Hillary Clinton and Kellyanne Conway. This could be an asset for the forthcoming film, the subjects of which some might dismiss by mere virtue of their being Fox News employees. Hopefully, we’ll learn more about her role in the film as details emerge on the project.