Trumbo is based on the true story of Dalton Trumbo, a screenwriter blacklisted from Hollywood in the ’40s after refusing to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) on grounds that he was promoting Communist propaganda. From the looks of the trailer, Cranston is having a hell of a time portraying the character as he dons a curled mustache and continues writing under various pseudonyms in the years following his ban. Joining him in a highly paranoid era of America’s history are Diane Lane as Trumbo’s wife Cleo, Elle Fanning as his daughter Nikola, John Goodman as film producer Frank King, Helen Mirren as gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, Dean O’Gorman as Kirk Douglas, and Louis CK apparently as the ‘40s equivalent of Louis CK, among others.
Directed by Jay Roach, Trumbo hits theaters November 6.