Fresh from dragging Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg into the harsh, melodramatic light of day, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin is set to make his directorial debut with an adaptation of The Politician, Andrew Young’s insider account of disgraced Senator John Edwards’ incredibly dull bid for the presidency and the sex scandal that finally made him interesting. The book traces Edwards’ rise to power beginning with his 1988 Senate campaign, but it’s a safe bet that all that will be duly dealt with within the first 20 minutes in order to get to the good stuff, which begins as soon as Edwards meets Jay McInerney punching bag turned would-be actress turned videographer Rielle Hunter, and the two get down to some illegitimate baby-making.
In a statement, Sorkin said, “This is a first-hand account of an extraordinary story filled with motivations, decisions, and consequences that would have lit Shakespeare up,” which makes us sad that the Bard wasn’t around in an era when rulers were undone not by their own hubris or crippling insecurities, but rather sex tapes of them performing oral sex on their five-months pregnant mistresses. One can only imagine the epic poetry he would have spun out of that situation. Anyway, Sorkin adds, “There’s much more to Andrew's book than what has been reported and I'm grateful that he's trusting me with it.” Although, really, throw in the “cheating on the cancer-stricken wife” angle, and that’s probably enough right there.
With Sorkin in the director’s chair, will he finally realize his dream of a film composed entirely of walk-and-talks? Better start limbering up, Dennis Quaid.