Amazon Studios has nabbed a feature pitch with “Wonder Woman” star Chris Pine attached to play John Dean, a pivotal figure in the Watergate scandal.
The film will follow the life and political saga of Dean, who served as White House counsel for President Richard Nixon from July 1970 through April 1973. Amazon bought the development project from producers Bob Cooper — a veteran Hollywood player — under his banner Landscape Entertainment and prolific screenwriter Billy Ray (“Gemini Man,” “Overlord” and the English-language adaptation of “The Secret in Their Eyes”) of Home Run Productions.
Dean himself will serve as executive producer on the project with his manager Rick Berg. Up-and-coming screenwriter Evan Parter, whose scripts have appeared more than once on the annual Black List, is penning the project.
Billed by the press as a “connoisseur of cover-ups,” Dean became a crucial Nixon whistle-blower by offering testimony that implicated the president in the historic cover-up. In exchange, he served four months of house arrest and plead guilty to obstruction of justice. He’s since written numerous books and serves as a political commentator. In recent years, he’s been highly critical of the Republican party and President Donald Trump.
Ray is repped by CAA and attorney Peter Nichols. Pine is with CAA, manager John Carrabino and Gendler & Kelly. He’ll next appear in the Patty Jenkins-directed sequel “Wonder Woman: 1984,” alongside Gal Gadot.