Glen Powell (left), Anthony Mackie and Laura Dern
Mat Hayward/Getty Images; Corey Nickols/Getty Images (2)
Netflix has landed John Lee Hancock‘s fact-based legal drama feature Monsanto.
Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie and Laura Dern star in the high-profile package that was acquired at this year’s Cannes film market.
Hancock (The Blind Side) directs the movie from a script he wrote with Michael Wisner, Alexandra Duparc and Ned Benson. Producers on the film include Moritz Borman, Eric Kopeloff, Jon Levin, Philip Schulz-Deyle, Adam McKay and Kevin Messick.
Monsanto centers on the true story of untested attorney Brent Wisner (Powell) taking on the chemical company Monsanto on behalf of client Dewayne “Lee” Johnson (Mackie), a groundskeeper who used the brand’s weed-killing product Roundup. Dern plays Dr. Melinda Rogers, Monsanto’s chief toxicologist.
CAA Media Finance handled the movie’s U.S. rights and negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers, while Rocket Science repped international rights and introduced the project at Cannes.
Powell ascended to the A-list with last year’s Sony romantic comedy Anyone but You opposite Sydney Sweeney and can seen this summer in Netflix’s Hit Man and Universal’s action sequel Twisters.
Mackie starred in the recent Peacock series Twisted Metal and will lead Disney’s 2025 superhero feature Captain America: Brave New World. Dern, who landed an Oscar for Marriage Story, starred in the recent Apple TV+ series Palm Royale and Universal’s 2022 feature Jurassic World Dominion.
As part of his conversation with The Hollywood Reporter for a recent cover story, Powell noted that any in-the-works project with which he’s been involved now has a high level of interest from Hollywood dealmakers.
“I’ve worked really hard for a long time, putting things together and just trying to get them in shape enough for people to give a shit,” Powell said. “Then finally you get to a place where people are just like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it!’ and suddenly you’re playing musical chairs with yourself. You’re like, ‘Wait, do I sit in all these chairs right now?’”
